Her Guardian Angel
by noendnogoodbyes
Summary: His duty is to protect her at all costs from childhood to adulthood though with her increasing rebelliousness throughout the years its not easy. Never interfere in her life beyond necessity, never get too attached. But what happens if Christian grows to love the young woman he's pledged to protect, to die for & to serve? Can he give up his life to be a human in hers? Eventual M hea
1. her guardian angel

"Christian." Christian heard a voice call out his name and he glanced up from where he sat, grey eyes filled with both curiosity and wariness. It was one of the elder counsel members, dressed in a suit and blue tie. "Today your time has come and you'll be assigned to a newborn human. Please, follow me."

Christian tried not to show his nerves as he stood, following the elder member. One hand swept through his hair while the other yanked at the tie around his neck, tucked neatly beneath the collar of the white shirt he was wearing.

He'd been waiting for this day for years, with never being certain when the time would come. It was a time every member of the counsel waited for; The chance to finally be assigned their charge from the counsel leaders.

Stopping in the hallway of a wide, arched entryway, the elder counsel man paused, gesturing for Christian to walk ahead of him first. When he did while again trying to remain composed, he saw that all the elder-men and women were seated at their thrones, all ready to declare and announce the name of his first and only charge.

Christian walked forward until his polished shoes just met the edge of a large hole in the room. While the ceilings were high and see-through in the counsel room, showcasing a brilliant stormy sky and glittering stars, the floor below it was scarcely laid.

There was a point to where the glistening granite floors stopped and opened up instead to an endless deep pit. Just inches from the mere tip of Christian's shoes, he glanced down into the large hole in the granite flooring, attempting not to show any sign of nerves or fear.

The cavity in the ground would reveal what he needed to know most, in a mere few seconds time.

"Anastasia Rose Steele," one of the elder counsel men commented, and Christian lifted his gaze from the pit in the ground to stare at the counsel elders.

The name was not familiar, but then he would soon find out all he needed to know. As he dropped his eyes back down to the pit, images began flashing in the center of it.

His charge. The human he was newly assigned to protect from this day forward.

Anastasia.

A woman was wailing at the top of her lungs in a human hospital. She was on a bed, doctors and nurses surrounding her, beckoning her to push. And then, the woman's wailing mingled with another.

A young babies. A newborn.

The child, clearly a girl, was swathed in a warm blanket, then given to the crying woman who had just been in labor with her. Christian watched as the woman held the baby close in her arms.

The baby was fine. Pink and slightly purple, but it had a working set of lungs on it. A small dusting of dark hair was on the crown of the baby's head, and as the woman, obviously the mother, started rocking the baby while crying softly and whimpering in happiness, Christian immediately recognized the baby's soul.

She was the one. The one he was now charged to protect for the rest of her life.

The one he would have to watch over from afar and ensure she was safe-without direct contact or interference of any kind.

Anastasia Rose Steele.

The baby's eyes were tiny, small slits as it immediately slept in its mothers arms, exhausted from the labor and excitement of coming into a new world itself.

"Your here," he heard the woman coo tiredly as she continued rocking the child gently in her arms. "You're finally here, Anastasia. Have you any idea how long I've been waiting to meet you, honey?"

The images of the mother speaking gently to her new child began to waver and dispersed, hollowing out the pit again into a deep, dark emptiness.

Christian peered up at the elder counsel members, waiting for one of them to speak. When they finally did, he knew what was to be done. He'd heard about it, the initiation, the pledge of undertaking a charge.

"Do you, Christian Grey, accept Anastasia Rose Steele to be your charge in the Earth world?"

"I do," he repeated the vow calmly while unbuttoning his shirt.

Once he reached the fifth button, he pried his shirt open, baring his chest, his skin. He kept his grey eyes on the elder man that was speaking as another member walked around the pit towards him, a large, narrow blade glistening in their hand.

"Will you, Christian Grey, die for her if the cause was necessary?"

"Yes."

"Will you, Christian Grey, watch over her from this day forward, ensuring she is free from pain and suffering?"

"Yes."

"You willingly give your life over to protect hers?"

"I do." Knowing what was coming, Christian braced himself for it as he turned towards the member holding the blade. Tightening their fingers around the golden, ancient handle, they brought their arm up, holding the knife into the air.

In swooping, downward stabbing motions, the blade was plunged into Christian's chest, not once, but three times in several places.

Gritting his teeth at the amount of excruciating pain, Christian dropped his chin, watching the three open puncture wounds in his chest. Drops of bright red blood trickled from them, only to form the initials they should, as part of the pledge.

ARS

The process was complete.

The human he was bound to protect, bound to look over and watch from a distance without interference, had finally been given a name.

Anastasia Rose Steele.

His time to arrive on Earth had arrived.

...

The first 10 months of being charged of watching over the human went smoothly and uneventfully. The child slept, then woke and cried, either because she needed to be fed, needed her diaper changed, or was just bored in general.

And then, all of a sudden, one day she decided she was ready to crawl.

Christian had learned through observation that the Steele household could be a stressful one. On three separate occasions, Anastasia's mother would get into emotional moods whenever news was brought to her of her husband Frank not being able to come home from his service in the marines.

During these times, the mother often became careless and less watchful of her child than she ought to have been.

Anastasia, 11 months old, had been left alone on the carpet while her mother was in the next room, Christian looking over her. There had been what he'd heard as a phenomena where, due to the purity of a child's soul, they could see their guardian angel at certain times.

He stood around near the child as she got up on her knees and hands, attempting to crawl and shuffle across the carpet towards where her mother was in the other room. The child was making soft, moaning noises as it stared ahead, shuffling one small foot forward from the other.

He'd moved in front of the child for just one second before he thought he saw her light blue eyes linger on the tips of his shoes.

And then, tilting back her head, he'd gotten a shock when the child looked up at his face for a fleeting, short moment, a toothless smile and dribble-bubbling squeal coming from her mouth.

He'd began wondering if she'd been able to see him for continuous periods after that moment.

Christian thought it had happened again the next day when the child's mother was holding her. Anastasia was sitting on her mother's lap, and as she'd curled a small hand into her mother's hair and had yanked, hard, he could have sworn the child's line of eyesight had been on him during that moment as well.

..

As the child grew, the more Christian felt comfortable around her.

At age five, she'd grown to nearly reach above his knees, short but slender-limbed, with light auburn hair, those inquisitive blue eyes she'd had even as a baby, and those round, pink cheeks.

It had become easier now that she could somewhat fend for herself better.

He learned that she loved watching animation or child's cartoons throughout the years. She also loved drawing and humming to herself as she did so.

Most of all, Christian learned that she loathed confrontation and seeing other people upset.

The troubles of the Steele's still carried on. Her mother still become emotional- even more regularly now- whenever her husband had dropped in for short visits, only to have to be deployed back to do his marine services early.

Whenever Anastasia had heard her mother arguing with her father, or even the slightest muffled cry, he'd noticed she'd immediately dart off into her bedroom to preoccupy herself in some other way. But as her guardian angel, he could sense her distress and her inner turmoil at how her mother was feeling.

Whenever she retreated off hastily after hearing her mother, he'd always sat beside her as she drew on the floor in one of her coloring books or hummed to herself. He would wrap his wings around her, hoping to give the girl encouragement. He would even try to project soothing thoughts and feelings onto the girl, only he was unsure whether it was effective or not.

And then the death came.

Early one morning, Anastasia's mother had gotten a phone call. Anastasia had woken up at the harsh sound of her mother's cries, still half asleep but alert despite it all. He'd seen and noticed the way her expression had changed, from sleepiness, to slow awareness. In the short span of fifty seconds, Anastasia had shut down completely.

As her mother's hysterical cries grew louder in another room, Anastasia had sat up, grabbing her pillow. He'd watched her crush it to her stomach, hugging onto it tight while she pulled up both knees, comforting herself. He'd been surprised by her inquisitiveness, at how bright she was to immediately discern something bad had happened.

He'd tried to project serenity and soothing sensations onto his charge when he'd found out what had happened.

Frank had been killed during his service in some sort of freak marine accident. An inquest into the cause was still being made.

As the noises of her mother had died down, Anastasia had taken to rocking slightly with the pillow, sniffling tearfully. Christian learned then what it was like to be truly hopeless and ineffective when the five year old's tears ran down her flushed cheeks as she squeezed her eyes tightly closed.

"Your fine," he'd tried to tell her, sitting beside her, covering over her shaking, small shoulders with his wings. "I'm here and I won't let anything happen to you."

That moment had happened again, when he saw her eyes open as they drifted off towards where he was momentarily. Christian thought he'd seen a spark of recognition in them- of shock, even- but it passed and drifted away, just as quickly as it had come.

If Anastasia's younger years had been this breezy, Christian was bound to be in for a shock once her early teen years began.

 **what do you think of a story like this? new to 50 shades fic writing**


	2. the young years

**The young years...**

Christian quickly found out that the girl had a curiosity for the things in life that were bigger than a girl of 8 could possibly handle or appropriately understand.

It was two nights before her 9th birthday that she finally brought up the subject while her mother was tucking her into bed.

There was an old armchair positioned right near the window in Anastasia's bedroom, ever since he could remember since landing on Earth to care and look over his charge that Christian often liked to sit in.

It was there he made himself comfortable on the evening two nights before Anastasia turned 9 years old. A fluffy pink pillow that belonged to the girl supported his back as he stretched out his long legs, observing the conversation between child and daughter.

Much to his relief, Anastasia's relationship with her mother had improved since her father had died in the marine accident. He'd noticed they had become closer and more open as the years had passed, probably because the mother had accepted Anastasia shared her grief over the loss of Frank as well.

Christian watched them, as he always did, stroking around his chin with his fingertips while the mother tucked Anastasia in. His young charge had her hair in a tight ponytail, most of her hair pulled back from her scalp, making her face look rather severe. It illustrated the sharp curve of her chin and the round, pink cheekbones of hers. Her wide blue eyes remained on her mother as Carla kissed her forehead gently, then bid her goodnight, but Christian could tell Anastasia had other things than sleeping on her mind tonight.

He could sense her curiosity, her alertness. She wasn't quite ready to go to bed yet.

"Mom, can I, um... ask you something?" His charge's voice was filled with hesitance. Her voice had changed somewhat over the years of looking over the child as well; Somehow, it was higher, deeper.

"Of course you can, honey. What is it?"

Christian could read Anastasia's nervous hesitance as her mother waited patiently, stroking her head, smoothing back her hair with her palm gently.

"Well..." She bit her lip as she blinked slowly up at her mother from her place on the pillow. "Why did daddy have to leave us so early?" Christian heard the tense sigh her mother gave out at the evidently unexpected question. "All the other kids at school, I've noticed they still have their daddy's with them," Anastasia added hastily beneath her breath; Her way of softening the blow, Christian knew. "I just... I don't understand why he had to leave us so early?"

"Honey, sometimes things just... happen." Christian knew her mother was trying to pick her words as carefully as she could. "Sometimes there's no deciding when you're going to go. Your daddy left us early because I suppose his time was just up."

He saw Anastasia consider that deeply as she dropped her eyes to her small hands that were clenched nervously together above the sheets. "Do you think that maybe then he's... watching down on us?"

Anastasia had started to become more curious about death. Christian lifted a leg, tucking it over the other as he bobbed his polished shoe up and down, waiting for her mother to explain.

"You know what I think, honey?" Carla made her voice brighter as an attempt to cheer her child up. Christian watched the way she smiled as she reached down, tapping Anastasia on the nose twice with her fingertip playfully. Anastasia made a small noise, squirming lightly beneath the sheets as a smile broke across her face. "I think your daddy is looking down from Heaven, watching us every day. I bet he's watching us right now, and he's listening to us speaking about him."

Christian recognized Anastasia's happiness over her mother's words as her eyes glistened and lit up in excitement. "You think so?" she murmured hopefully. "You think he's looking down on us right now, hearing us speak about him?"

"Oh, I bet he is." Her mother tapped the tip of her nose again and Anastasia giggled softly, a sound that made his heart warm. "And I bet he loves and misses you very, very much."

He could sense she was now content by her mother's words. He heard her hum in response while she fiddled with her small, short fingers again, picking at her thumbnail with her index finger.

"Sometimes I really, really miss him a lot," Anastasia then murmured sadly, and her mother sighed.

"I know, honey. I miss your daddy a lot as well. But he's always with us. In here." Carla covered the left side of her chest with her hand. "It's why it's so important to talk about him and keep his memories alive, because he'll always be here." She thumped at her chest with her palm loudly. "He'll always be alive for us in here."

"You promise?"

"I promise, baby." Leaning down on the creaking mattress, her mother kissed her forehead softly. "Now you better get to sleep."

"OK, mom. Love you."

"You too, honey."

Christian remain where he was, jiggling his foot over his knee in the armchair while he watched her mother stand. She walked over to the dresser, clicking off Anastasia's night-lamp. He was immersed in pitch-black darkness in the room, but an angel's eyesight was exceptional. He could still see the mother clearly as if it were day when she hovered by the doorway for a moment, then she left the room. Carla reached out, closing Anastasia's door fully quietly.

And then there was silence, as there often was at this time of the night.

Christian leaned his head back against the armrest as he turned his grey eyes to his young charge. He could still feel her, awake as she stared up at the dark ceiling and the shadows around the room cautiously. Then he felt it slowly permeate him; The sensation of her beginning to fall, beginning to drift off.

Once a distant, humming lull washed over him, he felt confident his charge was sleeping peacefully then.

This had become the times he loathed the most, if he had to be honest. Throughout his entire 9 years of looking over the child since he'd been assigned her, Christian dreaded the times where she slept. It always became far too quiet, far too uneventful for him.

Once he heard the child breathing in a calm, deep rhythm, he stood from the armchair, restlessly pacing around her bedroom.

She'd had a creative spark earlier; glittery gold pens and pieces of paper on the plastic table near her dresser. She'd drawn on the papers with the glitter, doing different strange designs to keep herself preoccupied while her mother had cooked dinner.

He walked over to the table, bending down, peering at the pictures as a way to distract himself while she slept. Over the years, Anastasia had become enthusiastic about arts and crafts, as well as reading. There were some long words she still did not understand, but he tried to project all of his understanding and wisdom onto her as often as he could.

He tried to make sense of the glitter drawings in the dark, unaware his charge's breathing had changed. When he became aware of it, he immediately stood and approached the bed, her own anxiety and distress filling him.

She was making little puffing panting noises, and as he stood over her, Christian recognized that she was having a nightmare. The bed sheets were trembling as she shook, her head moving back and forth over the pillow furiously as she shook her head. There was a lined crease between her eyebrows as she frowned deeply.

And then she began talking.

"N-no," she squeaked out in a soft murmur. "N-no, d-don't."

Christian tried to concentrate, projecting serenity and calm thoughts onto her while trying to erase her own horror and fearful feelings that filled him.

"P-please," she whimpered, her head turning towards him. "D-don't go. D-don't."

Usually, Christian could alter and soothe her mind without effort, but tonight it didn't seem to be working as easily as it usually did. Anastasia had her nightmares now and then, but usually he could bring her out of them by simply letting his wings cover her and give her strength.

He had to try a different tactic tonight, one he wasn't even sure would work.

Christian reached down with his hand, then hesitated. Would she even be able to feel him or even sense his touch, no less? What if he couldn't wake her and calm her down, failing her?

Sucking in a sharp exhale, he finally reached down to touch her gently on her forehead with his fingers. He'd expected to touch right through her, that she wouldn't be able to feel him at all. Instead, Christian felt his heart jolt when the tips of his fingers met warm, flushed skin.

As if her touch was burning him alive, Anastasia suddenly gasped and flung herself upright, her eyes wide and staring up at him through the dark.

He must have broken through the barrier. Now and then, he felt as if she could see him, but that hadn't happened very often like it had when she was a baby. Yet now, here she was, his young charge, breathing heavily as she stared right at him from where he stood above her, her breaths shallow, fast, and panicked.

"Your OK," he whispered, clenching his hand into a fist as he moved back, suddenly feeling afraid himself to touch her. He'd felt her. He'd actually felt his charge's skin himself. "Everything's OK, Anastasia." He didn't understand. She was still staring at him, her eyes wide and incredulous, face shaking, like she could actually see him. "You were just having a bad dream but your safe, in bed."

Her breath hitched in her throat, as if she could even hear him speaking as well as see him in physical form.

Then she whispered, "W-who are you?" Fear coursed through him- though he wasn't sure whose it belonged to the most. "W-why are you in my bedroom? H-how did you get in here?"

Christian stared at his charge for a few minutes, bewildered. Had she really spoken directly to him just then? Or was his mind playing tricks on him? He'd heard, from the counsel elders, that it was mostly rare for a charge to see through the barrier, though there were documented cases of it happening occasionally with children younger than 5 as their souls were naturally pure.

It occurred to Christian what it must have looked like as the child sat up fearfully, eyes still on him, afraid to look elsewhere in case he attacked her. He could see the sheer terror she felt.

"It's OK, Anastasia. Like I said, your safe. I'm your-" He paused, swallowing loudly.

It was against the rules. No interfering, no letting a charge become aware. There would be serious consequences for him if he told her the truth and then the counsel members found out.

"Y-your my what?" Anastasia croaked out. "Who are you? I-I don't know you?"

Again, she was still speaking to him, she was still seeing him. He could not believe it.

"I'm your... your friend," he settled on. "I'm safe. I'm your friend and I... I won't hurt you."

He could feel her fears diminishing a little as she continued to watch him cautiously through the dark of her bedroom from where he stood, inches away from her bed.

"How can you say your my friend? How do you even know my name?"

His charge was relentless. Christian could not believe this was happening. Was this something abnormal? Did the elders know about this?

He brought up a hand to run his fingers through his hair as he thought over what to say. There was little he could say that was permissable. "You'll just have to learn to trust me when I tell you that I'm your friend and that I won't hurt you."

"Your a stranger. I'm not allowed to talk to strangers? Strangers can't be friends?

Christian felt a maddening urge to laugh at the whole thing. Not only was she being incredibly infuriating, but this was unbelievable. "I'm not a stranger to you, trust me. I've been watching you since you were an infant." He hadn't meant to let that slip out, but it was too late. She'd heard. He watched as his charge's eyes widened and she stiffened. "I'm here to offer you guidance and to make sure your safe."

"Guidance? Like, um, an angel, you mean?"

He'd already said too much. She was too smart for her own good. "Something like that, yes."

He could feel her disbelief as she slowly sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest. She remained still against the pillows, watching him cautiously. "I don't think there's such a thing as angels?"

"Well, there is."

"But you don't look like one? I thought angels had wings and could fly?"

Clearly his young charge would not have been convinced unless he could show her an actual magical demonstration that proved otherwise. Christian bit down on his lip, thinking deeply. He was unsure what he appeared like to her in his physical form. Did he appear a regular man to her? Apparently so.

"I can't show you my wings, Anastasia."

"Why not?"

"Because they clearly aren't visible to you. They aren't... part of my form when you see me as I am now, standing before you."

"Then your a liar, aren't you?" He couldn't believe how stubborn she was. "If you can't prove your an angel even although you say your one, then... I don't believe you!"

"Your name is Anastasia Rose Steele. Your mother gave birth to you on September 10 at 8.46 p.m in the evening. Your father Frank, unfortunately died due to an accident while serving in the marines." He was trying a new tactic to convince her, though he could still feel her distrust and caution for him.

"Just because you know things about me, it doesn't mean your truly an angel!"

He sighed loudly as he thought of something else. Lifting both hands, he began unbuttoning a few buttons on his shirt slowly. His charge dropped her eyes to her knees hastily, unsure of his intentions. "Years ago, on the very night you came into this world, I made a pledge," Christian explained, and the girl reluctantly brought up her eyes in time to see him open up the collar on his shirt. "I, Christian Grey, accept Anastasia Rose Steele to be my charge in the Earth world."

He glanced down at the marks left on his chest himself as his young charge stared at them. Three marks, signalling each thrust of the blade. Each unbreakable vow.

"I, Christian Grey, would willingly die for my charge if the cause was necessary."

He could see that moment in his head again, the memory, as if he was back there with the counsel members, making his vows all over again. The amusement he felt that tore him out of that memory was not his own.

"So you have scars? That doesn't prove anything either?"

She was impossible. Gritting his teeth in defeat and frustration, Christian buttoned his shirt back up slowly.

"So, if you truly are an angel like you say you are, does... my mommy have one too?"

He was not completely certain but he'd heard that after a certain age, sometimes guardian angels were no longer needed by their charge. That either meant they would die off at the cause, or they would return one day, whenever the charge was in serious need. He was not sure about the mother however. "I'm not sure if your mother is still with her assigned guardian. Sometimes, as you get older, we have... less reason to stick around."

"But where do you supposedly go?" He could tell she still did not believe him. There was an air of mockery to his small charge's voice.

"I'm not sure, Anastasia. But we all must go somewhere."

He did not feel it right to tell the girl at her age that it was likely that, after a certain age, they would cease to exist. Perhaps they were sent to death as they were no longer needed? He was not sure of what happened himself, just as he was unsure what would happen to her, as his charge, once she passed from this world.

Warily, Christian turned his grey eyes on the girl again. Still she was sitting up against her pillow, legs pulled up to her chest as she watched him and every movement he made. He could feel the suspicion and doubt still plaguing her.

Eventually, he decided he would have to prove his worth, his trustworthiness, to her.

No matter if it took years, Christian knew he had the time.

...

"Ana, honey!" Her mother pounded twice on her bedroom door with her hand gently. "It's 7.30, baby. You better get up and get dressed or else you'll be late to school!"

Opening her eyes with a groan, she climbed out of bed, leaving the sheets unmade and her bed messy as she started changing into the school clothes her mother had set out neatly for her the night before. Last night flickered through her mind as she sat back down onto the edge of her unmade bed to pull on her socks and shoes while she hummed to herself.

Her eyes went to the armchair near the curtained window, then they flew across her bedroom, searching nervously. Everything was still as she had left it the night before. The glitter pens and pieces of paper she had drawn on were still in their place. A few of her toys were still where she had put them the last time she played with them. There was no one else in the room with her; No strange man claiming to be an angel, a friend sent to protect and look after her.

Had she dreamed it then?

Tying her shoelaces with steady fingers as she crouched down to reach them, an idea came to her. Once she'd finished the last loop on her shoelace, she quickly sank to the floor, turning her head to peer under her bed. Was he beneath there, hiding from her?

No, he wasn't. She sighed at herself in disappointment when all she saw beneath the bed were old shoes that she had not worn in a while. There was no strange man like the one that had spoken to her last night. Where was he? Or had she really been dreaming after all?

"Ana?" Her mother's shrill shout startled her and she gasped, getting to her feet. "I hope your up? Breakfast is ready!"

Trying to find the strange man again would have to wait until later. If she remained upstairs, looking around in her bedroom for too long, her mother would come up, probably angry with her. She hated it when her mom was angry.

Quickly grabbing her school bag off the floor, she opened the bedroom door and ran downstairs, being careful not to trip in her shoes as she leaped and hopped off the last two in one go.

She found her mother in the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Anastasia spotted the bowl of cereal her mother had made for her at once and plopped her bag down, shuffling onto the chair to eat her breakfast. Her stomach was rumbling from hunger.

"Did you sleep OK?" Anastasia's mother asked with concern as she watched her daughter start eating.

"I think so," she answered through a mouthful of crunchy cereal. Her thoughts went back to that strange man last night. Had her mother heard him talk or seen him as well? "Mom, did you see a man come into my room last night?"

She did not understand the look her mother gave her as she stared at her while nursing her mug of coffee between her hands. "A man?"

"Yeah, there was this strange man in my room last night!"

"Oh, Anastasia." Her mother huffed out a laugh as she shook her head. "That imagination of yours."

"But it's true!" She couldn't help her voice rising as her mother laughed again. "A man was in my room last night and he said he was sent here to protect me!"

"Protect you? Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"No, it was real life! He said he's something of an angel, but he couldn't show me his wings! He woke me up from a nightmare!"

Her mother laughed again, muttering something about her wild imagination. Infuriated, Anastasia fell into a silence, eating the rest of her cereal with her spoon. Then it was time to head off to school.

Her mother kissed her goodbye, then Anastasia stormed out of the house with her school bag flung over one shoulder. It took a fifteen minute walk to the school grounds each morning.

She couldn't believe it. Why did her mother just laugh? How could she not believe her? She could have sworn it were true and not a dream!

She felt so angry that she forgot to pay attention. Usually, she looked both ways before crossing the road, but her mind was still too busy thinking about her mother laughing at her and thinking she was just making it all up. Hoisting the strap of her bag over her shoulder, she went to cross the street, her head down, cheeks feeling bright red with anger.

"Anastasia!"

It all happened so quickly. The instance both her feet had stepped off the footpath onto the road, a man had cried out her name in warning at the same time a horn bleeped from a car turning onto the road. She gasped and squealed in shock when, suddenly, two hands were grabbing her around her waist, hard. She was hoisted back onto the sidewalk with force just as the person that had grabbed her had knelt before her on their knees.

Anastasia was shaking uncontrollably as she blinked in shock at what had just happened. She had been that close! That close to getting run over by that car! She hadn't even been paying attention, she hadn't even seen it in the first place!

"Are you all right?"

Her eyes lifted to the face that belonged to the figure kneeling before her as she trembled, her face pale, heart beating rapidly in fear. And it was him! His voice! The man from last night!

He was kneeling right before her, both of his much larger hands gripping onto hers. She felt the man squeeze her fingers tightly with his several times, as a soothing wave of calm washed over her a moment later once she met his eyes and held his concerned, deep gaze.

She swallowed against a dry lump as she felt herself slowly return to rights again.

The man was still there, real and alive before her, judging by the way his warm skin touched hers and the way she felt him press down against her fingers with his own much larger and longer ones several times. She was not sure why, but she felt instant comfort and relief in the fact that he was sending squeezes to her hands.

"Did your mother not teach you to look both ways before you cross the road?" the man muttered, and once her head seemed to become clear again, she realized she had made the man angry. "I know for a fact that she did. I was there, two years ago. The first time she walked you."

There was real frustration and anger in his voice, yet when she stared into his deep grey eyes again, all she thought she could see was sheer relief in them.

"I-I'm-" she stuttered nervously as his eyes searched around her face intently.

She couldn't remember what she was about to say to him, but she thought that maybe she was going to apologize for making him mad. She hated making adults mad, even if they weren't her mother.

But what? He'd been there when her mom had first walked her to school?

"Y-your him?" she whispered, eyeing him carefully now that it was morning and she could see him clearly. "Your the man that said that you're here to protect me f-from last night?"

She wasn't sure what she was expecting. He was older than her, a lot older, though she couldn't really say how old he appeared to be when all adults looked pretty much the same to her. His hair was tousled, Dressed in the same dark trousers and white shirt as last night, with shiny shoes. His shoes were shiny and black, like smart shoes her father used to wear whenever he had interviews or special occasions that he needed to be at before returning back to his services.

Her cheeks warmed when she realized she was simply dazing off, staring at his shoes. She gulped as she lifted her blue eyes back to his again. There was something about this man. He was a stranger- that she knew- and strangers were dangerous pretty much.

Yet there did not feel anything dangerous about him. She did not understand it, but this man, despite how older he was, he felt... safe to her. Immediately safe and comforting, his presence. Safe and warm and special.

"Your going to be late to school," he muttered, giving her fingers one last, gentle squeeze with his. Then he stood, pushing her hands away. He was much, much taller than she realized he would be. She barely reached his waist. "Look both ways next time, Anastasia."

Her mother always told her it was important to thank someone after they did something nice. She supposed he deserved a thank you for stopping her from getting run over. "T-thank you," she whispered, lifting her chin back to be able to glance up at him.

His eyes seemed to soften and then he made a gesture with his hand, as if beckoning her along.

Instead, Anastasia heard herself blabbing, "I told my mom about you but she didn't believe me." It was embarrassing and annoying, how her mother had laughed it off. "She didn't believe when I told her about you! She laughed at me and said it's my wild imagination!"

She was almost expecting him to laugh at her too, but fortunately, he didn't. Her chin rose higher in relief when the man simply nodded at her words. "Well, I wouldn't do that again, if I were you."

"Do what?"

"Bother telling other people about me, Anastasia. I hardly think anyone will believe you."

"But why not? Why won't they?"

"Because I'm your friend," he explained quietly. "I'm here just for you." She didn't understand what he meant but she didn't bother asking.

Anastasia glanced behind her shoulder as she began crossing the road safely this time, discovering that he was following after her. He walked along with her towards her school, a strange expression on his face. He reminded her of a dog that was on-guard, keeping an eye on their surroundings in case he needed to do something like intervene and rescue her again. It was like he was waiting for something to happen.

She also noticed that, as a woman walked past her pushing a pram, that they didn't look at the man that was walking beside her. The woman simply gave Anastasia a quick smile as she walked past briskly. Did no one else see him but her? He was real, wasn't he? She'd even felt his flesh against her own hands herself, so how could no one else see him?

As they reached the grounds to her school, Anastasia thought she heard the man sigh loudly. When she glanced his way again curiously, surely enough, he was kneeling beside her again, level with her.

"Be safe, OK?" The words were strict, like he was a teacher or parent demanding she do what he says.

"And if I don't?" she challenged, wanting to see what he'd do.

She thought she saw a fleeting troubled look come across the man's face as he glanced away from her. He shook his head several times as his jaw clenched. "Anastasia, I can't always be there to protect you," he said, and when he held her gaze again, she was a little spooked by how serious he looked. "This works both ways. You have to try to be safe as humanly possible without doing anything to purposefully endanger yourself, and I'll try to protect you and keep you safe whenever I can." The school bell rang loudly just as she watched him raking his fingers slowly through his hair. "You better get inside and don't be late," he urged her.

"OK. Bye."

As she turned to leave to join the students that were rushing to get inside, she paused by the front steps to look back at the man. Her stomach flopped as she looked around the yard and in the street nervously.

He'd disappeared, just like that, as if by magic.

...

Carla sat in the waiting room, fidgeting with her leather handbag as she waited to be called for her appointment.

She felt as if she was running out of hope. Lately, she'd noticed some strange and concerning behavior with her daughter, Anastasia. It had started and came on so abruptly. First, it was the morning she had woken up and had told her mother that a man had been in her room the night before.

Ever since then, things had become increasingly worse. Carla had heard her daughter speaking to someone in her room in the middle of the night, yet she was positive no one was present in the room with her. Whenever she'd ask Anastasia about this, her daughter insisted it was her 'guardian angel' that was speaking to her.

At first, Carla hoped it was just her imagination. She'd grow out of it after a few months. It was just a harmless phase her daughter was going through.

Only, five months later, it was still happening. It did not seem dangerous, this imaginary friend Anastasia had conjured up. By what her daughter had said of him, her 'guardian angel' was protective and sensible, always guiding her along. Like a father figure, perhaps. But it was starting to seriously concern Carla.

That was where she found herself now, privately seeing one of the rumored best child psychologists in town, hoping that they could shed some light on what her daughter was going through. Her daughter was currently at school, and Carla wanted the chance to speak to the psychologist alone at first. She didn't want her daughter to feel she was punishing her or that she thought she were abnormal.

"Mrs Steele?" A man's warm voice broke her out of her thoughts, and Carla stood abruptly from the chair as she looked at the man that had a known reputation for being the best child psychologist in Seattle.

Dr John Flynn appeared to be in his late 30's, with dark hair and piercing grey eyes. Carla smiled as she stepped forward to shake his hand.

"Yes, I'm Mrs Steele," she said nervously. "Thank you so much for agreeing to see me."

"Of course." Letting her hand go, Dr Flynn smiled as he beckoned her towards where his office is. Carla entered, her high heels clicking on the floor. She helped herself to a chair while holding her bag in her lap, her breathing unsteady. "So, Mrs Steele, what can I do for you this morning?" Dr Flynn asked amicably as he shut the door to his office for some privacy.

Carla waited until the Doctor was seated in his chair before she began. "I'm rather concerned about my daughter Ana's behavior at the moment," she began, her voice quivering. "It's been a stressful time."

Relaxing into his seat and crossing a leg over the other, Dr Flynn leaned back, eyeing her curiously. "I understand, if you don't mind me bringing it up, that... your husband passed away not too long ago?"

"Yes. Yes, he did. A few years ago."

"I see." Dr Flynn nodded once, stroking his chin with his fingers. "I'm sorry for the loss. What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, my daughter, Ana, she... I've noticed lately that her behavior has become incredibly strange. I suppose I just wanted a second opinion."

"And what seems strange about her behavior?"

"She talks to herself," Carla breathed out, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush. "Well, really, she seems convinced that she has this guardian angel. I sometimes hear her talking to him during the night in her bedroom."

"Right. So as in, like... an imaginary friend, perhaps?"

"I guess so, if that's what you can call it?" Carla felt the worry and tension leave her, bit by bit, the more she vocalized her concerns for her 9 year old daughter to the doctor. "It doesn't seem sinister, really. She says he likes to protect her and make sure she's safe. Things like helping her safely cross the road or helping her learn how to spell longer words. He'll tell her stories or... she seems to think he has a very soothing presence on her, that he gives her strength and makes her calm when she's upset."

"Right." Nodding at her words, she watched as Dr Flynn took a pen off his desk. He tapped it against his wrist absently as he thought her words through. "Well, firstly, let me reassure you that there is nothing abnormal or wrong with a child having an imaginary friend. Often, it happens and goes on more than you'd think it does. Has she described this friend at all?"

"Vaguely." Carla cleared her throat apprehensively as she began playing with the strap of her handbag again. "She says his names Christian and she's described him as... a lot taller than her. A lot taller with grey eyes and dark hair. She even says he knows how she's feeling, that he can... appear like magic or disappear."

"Christian," Dr Flynn repeated pensively. "So her imaginary friend is named Christian."

 **thank you for the faves and follows, as well as the comments. i wasn't expecting that at all so was very shocked. this is going to be a unconventional love story (if a little weird probably), inspired by the movie city of angels. right now, it's just touching on ana and christian when she was younger, its when shes older that complications arise. christian will become his usual protective possessive self, even as her guardian angel when no one else can see him. but that will change as a plot :)**

 **i would very much like to know your feelings, they inspire me to write**


	3. best friends forever

_**Best friends forever...**_

Throughout the years from 8 to 12, Christian and his young charge became closer naturally throughout that time.

He'd gained her trust after a few misunderstandings, proving himself to be no danger to her, but instead, her reliable protector, someone who guided her along and pulled her to safety.

And most importantly, above all of that, he'd begun to earn the title of someone who was regarded closely as a trusted friend to her.

..

Ana couldn't wait until class was finally over. She couldn't wait to give it to him.

It had now been a common occurrence over the years for Christian to walk her to school, then to meet her afterwards, where he would be waiting by the large trunk of a tree in the school yard, always dutifully on time at 2.45 the instance her day of school was over.

While her teacher was preoccupied with speaking to another student in class, leaning over their shoulder to ask what their drawing was of, Ana quickly used her distraction to her advantage. Biting her lip as she watched the teacher pat the shoulder of the student in praise, a girl Ana's age, over her artwork, she saw her chance and she took it.

Sliding off her chair quietly, she crept towards the window, peering out to the usual spot where her friend waited for her. She felt her heart sink the instance her blue eyes went to that trunk he often waited for her at. He was gone. He wasn't there.

Had he forgotten that he had to meet her after school today? Or was he busy somewhere else, maybe even being best friend's with another girl her age?

The thought of Christian being somewhere else, spending time with another little girl that wasn't her, it made Ana often feel funny. He liked to reassure her that she was his only friend, that he was here for her and her alone. She didn't like the idea of him sneaking off to be special friends with someone else other than her.

How come he said he was just for her if he had gone off to be friends with someone else?

Just as she was about to turn and run back to her table before the teacher caught her, feeling disheartened by his absence, she caught that flash of white from the dress shirt he often wore whenever he was around her.

Ana's heart hammered in her chest in excitement as her eyes widened while she got closer to the glass on the window, her eyes darting back to the trunk. Her lips pulled back into a happy, beaming grin, her nose almost touching the cool window glass that separated them.

To her relief, he was there now. The friend she'd had ever since she was apparently an infant.

He was standing by his usual spot near the tree now, resting an elbow against it to keep himself upright, both hands tucked deep into his trouser pockets. He always dressed in a dressy shirt and black trousers with those polished shoes of his, as if he were going to a special job interview or as if he was attending somewhere fancy. Ever since she'd first been able to set eyes on him, he still hadn't changed his clothes, not even a few years later now that Ana was 11, almost 12.

"Anastasia." She suddenly heard her teacher's voice and she turned away from the window, swallowing nervously. Her teacher had caught her; Both hands were resting on her teachers hips as she stared at Ana, a displeased look on her face. Ana recognized it as her teachers angry look. "Home-time isn't until another fifteen minutes."

"Yes, Mrs Andrews," Ana chanted, skipping back to her chair hastily.

She looked her drawing over carefully, wondering if Christian would like it. Would it be colorful enough for him? Would he keep it or think it's silly?

Deciding the picture could do with more color in the background, Ana picked up the blue and green pencils, beginning to color in more of the background outlined carefully.

"Wow, I like your picture, Ana," Mrs Andrews suddenly said from behind her and Ana gasped in panic.

She had been concentrating so hard on getting the colors right that she hadn't noticed the female teacher standing behind her. A sudden impulse made Ana want to cover the picture with her hand, to throw it away even. She felt protective of it for some reason; Like she wanted only Christian to see it, not anyone else.

"It's very detailed," Mrs Andrews went on and Ana caught out of the corner of her eye as the teacher sank down beside her, looking at it. "Who's this supposed to be?" she asked next, and she even tapped her forefinger against the picture of the man that was supposed to be Christian.

"He's, um, a best friend," Ana murmured, feeling shy.

"Oh, a best friend, huh?" Sometimes it annoyed her, the way Mrs Andrews spoke. Sometimes she felt like Mrs Andrews talked as if she was too much of a kid. Christian didn't do that; He always treated Ana like she was his age and never made his voice sound funny when he talked to her. "Well, it's very good. Your getting so good at drawing."

To her relief, the bell went and Mrs Andrews got to her feet.

"OK, class is finished now. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Hurriedly sliding out of the chair and stowing all the pencils away on the desk, Ana grabbed the picture she drew, wanting to give it to Christian as a gift. She'd never given him anything before. He'd always be there for her, waiting in the mornings to walk her to school or to walk her home afterwards.

He'd always happily help her with her homework and her spelling and times table while her Mom was busy cooking dinner. And he'd always tell her stories so that she could fall asleep when she didn't feel tired enough to fall asleep on her own. But she'd never given him anything to say how much she'd appreciated him before.

She grabbed her bag off the hook and made sure it was properly zipped up while holding the piece of paper carefully. She didn't want to accidentally ruin it by crinkling it or tearing it.

As she followed the other loud students in her grade outside, she ran immediately past the steps to where Christian was, still leaning against the large old trunk of the tree, waiting for her. She felt sort of shy and warm when he leaned off the tree, smiling down at her. Suddenly she wasn't so sure she wanted to give him her drawing or not.

"Hello, Anastasia. How was your day at school?"

"It was OK." She hesitated, biting down on her lip nervously as she squinted down at the piece of paper she was carefully holding between her short fingers. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought it was a stupid drawing? "Um, I... I have something for you," she finally muttered, lifting her chin higher in the air to meet his gaze. "I... I did it in class."

When he knelt down beside her, his gaze focused on nothing else but her face curiously, Ana felt that funny feeling in her stomach again. She found she couldn't look him in the eye, as if he was an unknown stranger to her all over again, and not the man that had become something of a close friend to her throughout the years. If he didn't like the picture, she knew she'd be devastated.

"Oh, what is it? Can I see?"

A nervous giggle came from her mouth as she finally handed him over the picture. She felt as if she wanted to shy away and hide when she glanced up quickly to see he was inspecting her drawing carefully with his grey eyes while he held the paper carefully in his hands.

"You did this?" When she peeked up again, he was looking at her, his eyebrows raised. He looked impressed.

"Uh-huh," she whispered proudly, and his question gave Ana the confidence she needed to lift her chin higher, to hold his gaze boldly. "It's supposed to be you and me."

"I thought so. It's amazing, Ana."

 _Amazing._ He thought it was _amazing_. She felt her lips pull back into a large, beaming smile at his comment. Her cheeks began to ache, she was smiling so hard. "You really think its amazing?" she asked uncertainly. "So you really, um, like it?"

"I more than like it, Ana. I love it."

 _Love?_ She didn't think it was possible to smile even harder than she did then. "You love it?" she repeated, her eyes widening as her voice shook with happiness.

"That's right. I love it."

" _Love_ is big!" She knew that if someone liked something, they just only liked it. But to _love i_ t, that meant it was so much more special and that it meant more than just to like it. "You can keep it if you want, too?" She felt her hands shaking with eagerness as she pointed at the picture he was still holding. "I only did it for you!"

"I think I will keep it." She giggled again when Christian folded the drawing carefully, only to slip it into the outside breast pocket of his white dress shirt. "I'll keep it in here with me." He patted his hand over the pocket. " _Always_."

His reaction to her drawing was even better than Ana had imagined.

She'd been nervous all afternoon, worrying he'd probably think it was a silly drawing or that, worst case scenario, he'd make fun of her. But to her relief, he'd gone one better; He didn't just like the drawing, he actually loved it, and to love something was huge! And he was keeping it! He put it in his pocket so he would have it with him always!

"You want to know why I chose to draw us?" Ana went on, still smiling painfully wide. His reaction was even better than getting rewarded an extra bowl of ice cream by her mom.

"Why did you?"

That funny feeling knotting her stomach came again as Ana pressed her lips together nervously. "Because you're..." She'd never said it out loud to him before, and she hesitated. It was too hard to say it when Christian was kneeling beside her, watching her face as she struggled to let it out and express it to him. So instead, she gestured for him to come closer. "It... it's a secret," she whispered, purposefully lowering her voice. "Only something you can hear. But you can't tell anyone, OK?"

"OK, I promise not to tell anyone," Christian agreed.

She giggled again quietly when Christian played along, shuffling closer towards her with his polished shoes. Once he was near enough to her, Ana giggled again anxiously while cupping her small hand over his ear, then she leaned forward to whisper it excitedly, a secret just between them.

It had been the first time Christian had seen his young charge truly act almost coy and nervous around him. Usually, Anastasia was so mischievous, so cheeky and inquisitive with asking him questions non-stop, always eager to learn.

He hadn't been expecting what she was about to whisper in his ear, her supposed secret just for him. When he leaned closer with his head tilted to the side as she cupped her small hand over his ear, and as she stood closer and bent in with her mouth, a rush of air tickled his earlobe as she burst out giggling again, the endearing shyness of the sound of it making his heart warm.

Then Ana had at last whispered, beneath her breath, "Because you're my most favorite person in the whole entire world," and he felt his heart swell at his young charge's sweet words.

"Hmm," he hummed as he digested her whispered words in thoughtfully. Then Christian moved until he held his hand up to her ear, whispering his words back to her, though without the shyness or embarrassment that his young charge had felt to say it. "That's funny, because you're my favorite person as well."

He tried not to laugh at her reaction when Ana leaned back to look at him, her eyes wide, her mouth hanging halfway open in shock. "Really?" she'd gasped, her voice high-pitched in disbelief. "And I'm yours?" Then one of her giggles erupted from her again as she covered her mouth with both hands, as if his returned confession was all too much for her.

Being assigned Anastasia Steele as his charge had become a lot more rewarding than he realized it would be, it occurred to Christian then. Yes, there were times where it was incredibly challenging when Ana would deliberately disobey him, as any child her age really does. But there were moments like this, heartwarming moments, that made him look past all of the other stuff.

"Come on," he urged her, trying to make her feel better while getting to his feet. "We better start walking home otherwise you'll scare your mother for being home too late." Ana stood and he touched her back, helping her along beside him.

"Goodbye, Anastasia," he heard a woman call, and they both turned back together to see a lady waving that must have been Ana's teacher.

"That's Mrs Andrews," Ana explained as they walked together, her backpack bopping up and down on her shoulder. "I don't know if I like her very much though. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't like me either."

"I'm sure that isn't true," Christian assured her, watching Ana turn back to wave at the teacher one last time.

"She can't see you?" Ana pointed out, frowning as she glanced far up at him.

"No. She can't."

"How come no one else can see you but me?"

It was a difficult question for Christian to explain. He hadn't quite known the complete mechanics of it himself. He sighed while running his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. "I'm not sure, Ana. I suppose, in the way I like to think of it, is that the reason no one else can see me but you is because I'm only here for you, I'm for you."

"But where do you go when you aren't with me?" she asked him, scrunching up her nose. "Like... when you aren't in school with me? Do you go somewhere else?"

"No, I'm always here. I'm always here waiting for you in case you need me."

"But do you go see other boys and girls?" The tone of her voice when she asked the question confused him. She sounded upset by the idea.

"No, I don't, Ana. There's only you."

"But why?" Christian was thankful that he'd gotten used to Ana's incessant questioning. He sometimes felt he was under examination or interrogation when around her.

"Because we only get assigned to one human. You're my human." He could see she was about to walk out on the street without looking, and he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back. As it turned out, she had done it on purpose to see if he was paying attention. When he'd glanced down at her reproachfully, he caught Ana staring up at him with mischievous eyes. "You should take this more seriously," he scolded her, glancing both ways. Then once he saw they were clear to walk, he pushed her forward and walked with her across the road.

"Take what seriously?" Ana asked, repeating him like a parrot.

"You _know_ what." As they reached across the road, he almost felt like he had come right out of his skin when Ana's shoe got caught on the step in the pavement. "Careful" he cried out at once.

She stumbled forward and he caught her before she could trip over and seriously hurt herself, a sigh escaping through his mouth as he righted her with both hands around her waist. He heard her small laugh as she spun around in time for him to notice she was grinning up at him.

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed, before she giggled, her eyes twinkling naughtily. "You thought I was seriously gonna trip over and fall, didn't you?"

Apparently it had all been some sort of deliberate trick, with Ana pretending to get her shoe caught. Christian shook his head while running his hand through his hair, irritation making him frown. He heard her splutter into more giggles and he tried to refrain from smiling himself, with not wanting to encourage her. Sometimes his young charge really liked to push him. He wondered if she could tell how seriously he took this, how seriously he fretted whenever it seemed she was close to hurting herself.

"Anastasia, that wasn't funny," he muttered in annoyance when she looked very proud of herself. "My whole purpose in being here is to protect you. I don't appreciate you making fun of me."

Even although her face had turned away from him and they had started walking again, he could see the very telling sign of her cheek being lifted, which meant that she was still struggling not to laugh.

"So other boys and girls have someone like you, too?" she asked once her cheekiness had died down. He almost growled in relief.

"They do. All the boys and girls at your school do."

"How come I can't see them?"

"Just for the very same reason that they can't see me," he explained. "Only the boys and girls can see who they're assigned to, though... I'm not sure if they're capable of seeing them like you can with me." He was not sure if other boys and girls at her school were enlightened to their guardian angels presences around them. The fact that Ana was still seeing him, even now at this age... he had not heard of such a phenomena occurring before. "There are notified instances of children like you, when you're 5 or 6 not being able to see me anymore. You lose... the ability to see after a while."

"But I'm pretty much close to 12 and I can still see you?" Yes, and that was why it was so bizarre. Ana could still see him, even now, when usually, it was common for children to stop seeing their guardian angels after the ages of 5. He often wondered why it was so himself, how Ana could still see him. He put it down to it being some unique and inexplicable bond they had.

"I know. I'm not sure what it means."

"So..." Ana faltered with her steps, peering up to look at him thoughtfully, "Does that mean that, whenever it happens, I could stop seeing you at any time?" He caught the edge of fear in her voice and when he blinked back down at her, he saw sadness in her bright blue eyes.

He wondered if he ought to keep it to himself, but then decided being untruthful was not right. It would only hurt her even more. It would be better that she were prepared for it.

"Unfortunately yes. It's always a possibility."

"B-but what if I _don't ever want_ you to go?" she asked loudly, her voice like a whine, a sad outburst. "What if I don't want to ever stop seeing you, because you're my favoritest person in the world?"

Christian suddenly wished he hadn't spoken about it to her after all. He sighed loudly when he noticed a sheen of wetness building in her sad, wide eyes. "I won't want to go either, Ana," he assured her gently. "But you should know that there's always a chance of it happening."

"When?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have a specific time or date. We should just always prepare ourselves for the likelihood of that happening."

He almost felt his heart cry out in pain when he glanced at Ana again, only to see her sniffling gently. He'd seen Ana cry every now and then, of course, but... not due to anything he had done or said. He stared down at her, astonished when tears trickled down her cheeks, her lips mashed together as she sobbed. For the first time, he felt like an utter ass. A complete cruel, and wicked person for making her cry.

Without thinking, he got down on his knees beside her, trying to comfort her. He noticed she wouldn't look at him, as though she was embarrassed about her tears or she was perhaps just too hurt to.

"Ana, I'm sorry," he whispered softly, and he hesitated before reaching over, putting his arm around her small shoulders gently. "I didn't mean to make you upset by talking about this." He focused on sending soothing, happy feelings onto her.

And then, next thing he knew, she was crumbling while shoving her arms around him, her small face hiding into the collar of his shirt as she cried heart brokenly. Something hard and rough built in his throat and Christian realized he felt like crying along with her guiltily for making his small charge cry.

"Ssh, I'm still here," he soothed when she shook against him. "I'm still here right now, Ana."

He felt her tears soaking through the fabric of his shirt as he touched the back of her hair, stroking it gently.

"But... but you're my best and only friend?" He heard her whimper and splutter brokenly into his shirt, her voice muffled.

"As you are mine," he whispered back to her, rubbing her back gently while his other hand, he cradled her head, patting it.

"Best friends forever?"

"Of course," he promised. "Forever. But don't worry, there will be other friends. _Realer_ friends that everyone can see, too." He was confident it wouldn't only be just her and him for long. Soon, Ana would make more friends once she felt more confident at school.

And, no doubt, once she was far older, she'd be having more than just friends hanging around her as well. Christian felt an odd tight shifting sensation in his stomach at the thought of Ana older, in her much older teens, beginning to date and having a boy hanging off her arm.

What was the appropriate course of action for a man, like him, when his charge began dating boys or experimenting with the opposite sex? While he'd always felt prepared and ready to be assigned a human, there were still so many unanswered things he did not know.

Suddenly Christian wished he had spoken to some of the counsel elders while he had the chance to. With their knowledge and experience, they could have freely explained to him his role in the inevitable charge's rite of passage where dating and sexual experimentation was concerned.

He shook his head to ward off these sudden questions that perplexed him. Ana was young still, and all of that, it was years and years away. Why was he concerning himself over these questions now when he ought to be entirely focused on comforting the child and erasing her fears as expected of him?

Sensing her hurt slowly evaporating, he heard her sniffle once more before she leaned back, hastily wiping the tears off her face with her small hands. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, her eyes rimmed red. "Are you going to be all right?" he asked with concern, and she nodded once with a forced, small smile, sniffling again as she moved away from him.

"I...I'm OK now," she whispered slowly in a small voice.

Seeing that she was better now, Christian stood as well, slowly following after his charge as she began walking the route towards home again. "Good girl."

 **thank you so much for inspiring me to write, it always helps to know what you all think of the story so far. :) this is basically just touching on Ana and Christian during her childhood, I think next chapter we'll be getting to her being older. this is inspired by City of Angels and, as some of you point out, that wasn't a very happy ending. this story will be as i'm a sucker for romance and especially christian and ana as a pairing, it may just take a bit to get there :) also loosely inspired by Sunday's at Tiffany's and Drop Dead Fred (the whole 'imaginary friend'/angel thing).**

 **please do keep letting me know your thoughts and sharing them.**


	4. jealousy and no more need

_**Jealousy and No More Need...**_

It had started happening when Ana was 14.

Christian had noticed she'd become shyer. Troubled, even. She had changed from the carefree, giggly girl he'd known, who always asked him questions and would smile at anything. She'd become more quieter and distant, even, in the matter of a few months.

Christian had suspected it was because his young charge had begun high school, a huge milestone for any young girl. Just as he'd predicted, she had made a new friend rather easily and quickly, another girl called Kate. He'd seen her friend wave goodbye to Ana one day while he was waiting to walk with her home from school, and, (as _Ana_ described her) the girl was everything Ana wished she could be more like.

Kate was heavily into fashion and socializing. Ana had begun to doubt herself, fearing there was something wrong with her, all because she felt she didn't have as much interest in the things other girls her age did. Ana did not find anything interesting about make-up, fashion, or the latest technology. She was more into reading- reading classic literature and then watching their movie adaptations- and learning about the world, learning about travel and the current problems in the world at large.

He'd tried to reassure her again and again that there was nothing wrong with her. In his eyes, she was normal as normal could be. But even despite him telling her that and the way he'd tried so hard to to send reassuring, calm sensations her way, he could still feel her doubt, her hesitance to believe him.

Nothing much had changed the two years later, aside from his charge going through her huge monumental changes of starting high school while battling to fit in and make new friends.

He still walked with her to school every morning, waving her off while she went to class. And the instance all her classes were over and home-time came, he was still there, waiting for her loyally and waiting as Ana walked out of the school doors along with a crowded group of other loud students; her being the quietest one out of the lot.

She still wanted him to walk her to and from school; something that hadn't changed despite how older she was getting. But he could sense her needing him less and less.

...

Her mother had fortunately spared him what was bound to be an awkward conversation on what her body was going through.

Just four months into turning thirteen, Ana had woken during the night to pain in her stomach. She'd been complaining every time he spoke with her that she'd been feeling funny; As if something wasn't right.

Her wide, fearful blue eyes had found him the instance she'd searched for him, sitting where he always was, sitting on the armchair near her closed curtains with his long legs stretched out comfortably, guarding over her, making sure she was safe.

"Can't sleep?" he'd murmured to her in confusion when it had became clear to him that sleep was not something his charge had been interested in doing that night. He could feel her, sense everything she was feeling- how alert she felt, how queasy with nerves.

She'd grimaced and shaken her head at him as she'd sat up, pulling the sheets off her legs while drawing them up to her chest. Christian hadn't been totally sure what was happening at the time, but he had noticed a staggering difference about his charge lately.

It seemed as though it had happened basically overnight; He was used to Ana being short but lanky, and then... one morning, she'd suddenly shot up a considerable amount. She'd become slimmer and leaner, longer in the legs and arms. He suspected it was because she had developed an interest in running at school; The only sport she'd told him she apparently felt comfortable with, because she was (in her words) embarrassingly uncoordinated and she couldn't hit any balls straight.

It had taken him a few days to realize the true reason why she was changing. She was growing, like any normal girl her age does. He just hadn't been expecting it to happen so quickly.

Now, she could reach roughly the height of about his shoulders without having to stand on her tiptoes. She could easily reach up and slap his cheek- playfully and gently, mind you- whenever the urge had struck her to.

"I... I swear something's not right, Christian," she'd whispered back to him while curling an arm around her waist, holding her hand below her navel nervously.

Christian hadn't been quite sure what his charge had meant at first. "Do you have a stomach ache?"

"No, I guess I just..." Ana had reached down for one second, rubbing her inner left thigh in confusion. And that was when the blood was there. A bright red smear of blood. "I think something's, um, really weird here? I mean, I... I felt it all today?

He hadn't known much about girls himself at the time. Back in his world, matters of puberty and sex between the opposite sex were not often freely discussed. He suddenly wished he'd asked someone from the elder's counsel, an experienced member, to give him insight into what he must do when this moment came and what was required of him, because when Ana had gulped loudly, bringing up her hand to inspect the small amount of blood on her fingertips, he'd felt a jolt of sheer panic that he wasn't entirely sure who was responsible for.

"Am I..." She'd reached over to switch on her lamp so that she could see better. He hadn't seen his charge appear so frightened before as he had that evening when she'd discovered there was a small amount of blood in her underwear. "Holy crap, I... I'm bleeding?"

Now when he looked back on that night, Christian felt as if he'd truly failed her due to his lack of knowledge when it came to teenage bodies, especially those of the female kind, like his charge. He'd stood from the armchair while approaching her slowly, listening to the way she was breathing harshly, rapidly.

"I think maybe you should tell your mother?" he'd suggested while trying to remain calm. She'd expected him to be the calm one, always looking out for her and knowing what to say or do. He couldn't have let her known he was every bit as worried as she was. "You should call out to her and wake her up. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"M- my mother? Why? S-shouldn't I call a doctor or something?"

As it had turned out, Ana hadn't been dying or was in serious harm. She wasn't going to die of blood loss or internal bleeding. Christian had been just as stunned as his charge was when, once Ana had finally cried out to her mother, her mother had sat her down on the bed and had explained to her calmly what was going on.

It wasn't any unseen injury. It was her period; something young women apparently naturally get once a month.

Christian had listened to her mother answer all the questions Ana could have possibly had on the subject while he'd sat there, in the armchair, staring down at his hands while he opened them and closed them, pretending to give the pair privacy when really, he was listening closely to everything his charge's mother explained to her.

After her mother had explained to Ana all the ins-and-outs of her body, as well as a demonstration on how to use the sanitary pad while he'd tried his very best to ignore them, he'd felt like a complete and utter failure.

 _He'd been sent for her, to protect her and yet, he couldn't even explain to her such a simple concept such as hormones and menstruation?_

 _Why hadn't the elders told him that this was bound to happen?_

 _Why leave him in the dark feeling utterly useless with no idea what his young charge had been going through?_

He could only be both relieved and thankful that the mother seemed to know everything on the topic yet, at the same time, deep inside his stomach, he felt a strange uncomfortable feeling that he'd never felt before. A feeling of being useless, a feeling of shame and self-torment. How had he not known in order to ease his charge's mind?

But it was rare, he'd had to remind himself while trying to show himself a little self-compassion instead of loathing. What he and Ana were going through, the fact that she could still see him, even now, at her age... it was a complete rarity and unique situation in which he knew no other incidences like this had been documented in his world.

Perhaps that was even why no elders had bothered to inform any others about concepts such as menstruation? There was no awareness of such a thing even existing because, perhaps, no one else had stuck around to be with their charge for as long as he had?

So why? Why were he and Ana seeming to be the only ones experiencing this phenomenally?

...

"Your eyes look different?" Christian had commented one afternoon as they were walking towards home once her day of school had finished.

He'd noticed it the instance she'd rushed out of the double doors, nudging and fighting her way past a barrage of students to get to where he was waiting, always leaning against the fence to meet up with her for their walk home. Up closer, he'd noticed there was a difference about her the second they'd started walking together, falling into their usual companionable, comfortable talking on the way home.

Usually, Ana looked so fresh-faced and pale, but he'd noticed how her eyes looked darker. Above them on the eyelids especially. He was sure she hadn't always looked like that before, with her eyes that way.

"Kate practically forced me into letting her put some eye makeup on during lunch," Ana explained in a soft breathless rush, but he sensed an anxiety there, an air of nervousness.

She glanced over at him while tucking a loose strand of her long brown behind her ear, then she'd clenched her eyes closed in a deliberate, prolonged moment.

Inspecting her while faltering mid-step, Christian saw that her eyelids were a shimmery brown. When she slowly reopened her eyes, meeting his gaze again, he found he had to look away immediately for some reason. The clear blue color of her eyes, combined with the- _what did she just say it was_?- it made them stand-out and appear more piercing than usual.

"She says it brings out the natural color of my eyes, the shade," she went on, "It's called eye-shadow."

" _Eye-shadow_ ," he mused quietly beneath his breath while combing his fingers through his hair. He hadn't heard of eye-shadow before, and it sounded strange, the term, rolling off his tongue.

"Yeah. Eye-shadow." Ana laughed abruptly, a strange note to her laughter that he hadn't heard before.

Like always, he felt that warm tight feeling in his stomach at the sound of it, even if it _did_ sound different today in ways he did not understand. When Christian looked her way questioningly, he saw that she was smiling widely as she glanced ahead of them. He realized she was avoiding his eyes for some reason.

"This is like... role reversal, almost," she explained as another laugh escaped her. "I'm so used to you being the one teaching me things. Like with... times tables and all of that." He watched her as Ana peered down at her hands, a soft pinkness spreading across her cheeks. She was playing with her fingers, twiddling her thumbs around. "This just feels so... weird." Suddenly, she turned to look at him, "Do you find this weird?"

Christian's brows furrowed as he shook his head a little. He wasn't quite sure he understood, "Weird?"

"Never mind. I'm just being... stupid, I guess." She laughed again as she shrugged, brushing it off.

And then things went silent between them. Usually his charge would be constantly talking, explaining how her day went to him, and Christian would listen eagerly, always interested in whatever she had to say. But today it was clearly different. He could sense something there, a difference to her.

They both stopped at the sidewalk, doing what they always did. A habit had been formed, at this very sidewalk, where they'd stop and glance left to right before crossing the road. Christian watched Ana as she glanced around them, making sure there wasn't any cars approaching before she stepped forward, rushing to cross. He'd taught her well, now she knew to always check for cars, and it made his gut swell with pride.

"In bio class, Kate was talking to a few of these guys..." she began once they'd both safely crossed the road. She'd slowed down her pace, to match his, he assumed. "She was asking them to say who the prettiest girls in the class were, and I... I was listening to them, but not really getting involved."

Her eyes whipped to meet his, to make sure he was listening. Christian nodded once to show she had his entire attention captured, but he couldn't help wondering where she was heading with this.

"Anyway, um... so I was listening, and there was six boys answering Kate on who they thought were the prettiest girls in bio class." He started to sense her anxiety, her worry. The feelings flooded through him as if they were his own. "Well, guess who they never mentioned?"

She peered his way quickly before averting her gaze to her hands again, her top teeth sinking into her lower lip.

He felt it all hit him at once, like a bolt of lightening; A sensation of hurt, of rejection. _Was she upset that her name hadn't been mentioned? She was upset that none of the six boys in her class had considered her pretty?_

This was the first time they had had a conversation of this nature before, and Christian wasn't entirely sure what to say or how to respond. He ran his fingers slowly through his hair while staring at the side of her face, examining her, feeling rather... perplexed.

He got the impression she was waiting for him to say something.

"Anyway, um, it doesn't matter," Ana immediately said with a shrug that sent her bag bobbing up and down around her back and shoulder. As if shoving what she'd just said aside, she lifted both hands up, gathering her long hair in them. "I don't even know why I care so much, but I guess it just..." She inhaled in deeply through her mouth after releasing her lip from her teeth, her fingers pulling her hair to one side over her right shoulder. "It just would have been nice for someone to consider me pretty, you know? Like... it just started to get me wondering?"

Ana was quiet for a moment longer, working her fingers through the ends of her hair, combing it while she held her head down low, chin to her chest.

Christian wondered if he was meant to try cheer her up, like he had whenever she was upset when she was younger. Should he make a joke that would hopefully get her to laugh? Should he tickle her beneath her ribs, even, in that way that used to make her giggle so hard that she was crying?

He felt relieved when she eventually looked at him again, though it was fleeting. "I mean, you're a... a guy, right?"

He tried not to laugh at her words, though the urge to made it difficult. He was positive this was not quite a laughing situation however.

When she looked his way again, he made sure he had her complete and undivided attention this time as he deliberately looked down at the trousers he was wearing, at the area of his groin. He made his voice purposefully lower and ridiculous-sounding as he muttered, "I think so. Last time I checked I was?"

He was rewarded by her giggle and when he met her eyes, he smiled himself at the reaction he had managed to get out of her despite her odd mood. There was nothing more special than the satisfaction of knowing he had succeeded to make his charge laugh and smile, even after all this time.

"Right, so, um, when _you_ look at me, would you, um..." Her nerves were so palpable that it was almost painful for him to endure, "Would _you_ consider me pretty?" The words left her mouth in a whoosh, as though Ana was fearful she wouldn't be able to completely get them out otherwise.

He stopped walking in shock at her unexpected question, the air leaving his lungs. He hadn't expected her to ask such a thing of him before, but when he observed the way she clasped her hand over the strap of her bag and held her head down, as if she were embarrassed, yet the slight hopeful twinkle in her eyes, it occurred to him that she needed this. She needed him to answer her this.

Honestly, Christian hadn't thought of her in that way before. Being with his charge since she were young, he found her many things. Perceptive, intelligent. Smart beyond her years. So much fun to be with, especially when they would get up to mischief together at times.

She was his absolute favorite person in the world, the entire reason he was here. She was his reason for living and, if necessary and needed of him, she would also be his reason for dying.

But _did_ he consider her pretty?

Christian scrutinized her thoughtfully in a way that he hadn't really before. Her friend had been right; The eye-shadow did bring out her eyes, making the blue of her irises pop out against the black of her pupils. Her hair had grown longer over the years and had become darker. Her fringe framed her face in a way that seemed beneficial, highlighting her cheekbones. Did he find her pretty? Was 'pretty' the way to describe how he felt about her?

"It... it's OK," Ana suddenly spoke before he had a chance to get his answer out. She met his eyes for one brief second, then she glanced forward again, her cheeks flushing as what sounded like an exasperated sigh escaped her nose. "You don't... you don't have to answer that, Christian." The offense she felt blew through him like a fire catching a branch alight. "I can see you don't want to anyway."

He licked his lips as he blurted, "Yes."

He could tell she was both relieved and happy at his answer.

Ana looked over at him, her lips parting as if surprised. Then once his positive answer seemed to sink in, she lowered her head, her cheeks lifted in that very revealing way that told him she was grinning.

Christian felt an odd sensation in his chest as he stared at her, a feeling he definitely had not felt before, nor experienced once since Anastasia became his charge. He wasn't quite sure how to describe the feeling or how to aptly put it into words, but... it felt as if his heart ( _did he even have one_?) was being crushed in his chest. "I... I think you're the most prettiest girl I've ever seen, Ana."

She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes searching his as a large smile made her cheeks tremble. "And you're not just saying that?" He could feel her doubt, her slight unwillingness to believe him.

He held her eyes as that odd feeling came to him again, but it was a milder feeling he felt at the happiness that radiated off her, the shyness. His heart felt warm and... soft. Like a sponge filled with warm gushing water, in a sense. He couldn't understand what it was, what it meant.

"I'm not just saying that," he assured her, looking deeply into her eyes so she could see he was being honest.

Ana glanced around to make sure that no one was near them that could overhear her talking, then she moved closer, resting her head against Christian's arm as they walked leisurely. "Are you sure you're not just feeling obligated to say that because I'm pretty much you're most favorite person?"

"I'm not. While _you are_ my favorite person and will probably always be, I won't lie, I'm also telling you the truth. I _do_ find you to be the prettiest girl. Those other boys at your school? Well, they're just jerks."

"Yeah, they are," she murmured, licking her lips as she held her cheek against the fabric of his dress shirt, at his arm. "They _are_ jerks."

It occurred to him he wasn't just saying it to reassure his charge, to make her feel better- as was his responsibility. He wasn't telling her that to make her happy or to make her feel more positive about her school experience. He realized he actually truly felt that way about her.

He'd seen many at her school as he waited for her walking past. In fact, all throughout his time as her guardian, there had been women and girls in her life that he never even noticed the beauty of or their physical attributes, because he was so focused on his task, on his main objective. None had his heart the way Anastasia did, because... he was here for her, he was all for her and her alone.

There was not any other girl for him, there was just... Ana.

..

He could feel her beginning to pull away.

It all began a year later, when Ana turned 15.

She'd always tell him in advance when she'd have someone else walking home with her, and Christian always respected that, he always respected and did not take it personally when Ana preferred he kept quiet at certain times when she was around other realer people.

Kate was walking home with Ana today, and Christian was mindful to keep quiet as he walked beside them. He knew Ana felt self-conscious if she accidentally spoke to him when someone else was near, she already had difficulty with her mother enough as it was when she'd overhear Ana speaking to him- someone who was visible to solely Ana alone and not anyone else around her.

He kept his lips pressed together, hands tucked in each trouser pocket, as he walked beside Ana, the girl's talking excessively loud and excitedly as he remained quiet.

"Yeah, so... he kind of asked me out on a date this Saturday," Kate was telling Ana; Ana, who made sure she kept her eyes on Kate and that she did not accidentally glance at him for even just a mere second. He watched the side of Ana's face, at how large her eyes got, how animated she became.

"Wow, so he asked you out this Saturday? That's huge?"

"I know, right? Anyway, so... he sort of might have suggested Trey come along, seeing as they're close buddies."

He felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach that he was confident was not his own feelings, but Ana's.

"Oh? So Trey may be coming along too?"

"Yeah, as a sort of... double-date thing?" He saw Kate give Ana a pointed look, while her green eyes went past him, straight through him for one moment, then back to Ana again. "As in... _you_ and _Trey_?" Her friend went on, making the suggestion clear.

Christian felt something pass through him; a reaction that he knew for certain was a feeling of his own this time rather than one belonging to Anastasia. He did not understand it, but... the idea of Ana going out on a double-date with whoever this Trey might be. It did not settle too well on him, the idea. He felt himself tense up as he waited for Ana's reply, running a hand through his hair.

"You mean me going on a date with Trey? Trey Michael's?" She was surprised. Shocked, even. "But he... he's always a jerk to me?"

"Yeah, Ana, but that's only because he totally likes you! He's only mean because he fancies the hell out of you!"

 _Being mean equates to liking someone?_ Christian thought in confusion to himself while raking his hand though his hair again. He could not understand Kate's thinking at all. If you liked someone, why go out of your way to be mean? Or was that some thing he did not understand?

"I don't know, Kate. I could have sworn he hates me!"

"He doesn't, though! It's all a complete act! He thinks you're really hot so please, will you say you'll agree to it?"

He caught the cursory look Ana gave him for the first time, as if she was consulting him privately on how to approach this. But the look was too fleeting for him to signal anything meaningful to her.

"I'm just not sure, Kate. You really think I should?"

"Yes! Please!"

He could feel Ana's indecision wavering. Then, a second later, under the pressure, she crumbled. "Um, okay then. So this Saturday?"

The two girl's laughed loudly, exclaiming in excitement about what was going to happen. All the while, Christian felt a bitterness in his chest as he licked his lips and ran a shaking hand through his hair again.

The feeling... it was unnerving and all too human. A feeling he hadn't expected to feel, but one he had heard of being described vividly in a favorite of Ana's books or in a movie they had watched together.

He felt powerless. Powerless because Ana clearly was ecstatic to have her first date with this young boy, this Trey, yet he did not feel it was a very good idea for her to. He felt powerless because, as honoring her request, he could not vocally express his disapproval on the matter.

But above powerlessness, he also felt something akin to jealousy.

..

That Saturday had seemed to come on fast.

He could feel Ana's anxiety as he sat in his usual frequented place, in her bedroom, on the armchair. He kept his head low, his grey eyes on his hands in his lap as Ana fussed around in her wardrobe, trying to find something suitable to wear.

He still hadn't told her he'd thought it was a terrible idea. Not that he hadn't wanted to.

As he focused on flexing and opening his fingers, watching his knuckles drain white and the veins around them, he felt the irritated words on the tip of his tongue again, words dying to be said.

 _Ana, I don't think you should do this. This isn't a good idea._

He imagined himself saying it to her as he clenched his eyes closed, focusing on breathing steadily through his nose as he heard her fumble around with her clothes and various hung up dresses in her closet. He imagined how she would take it, and he knew his charge well enough to know precisely how she'd take it.

She'd be confused at first, then that rebelliousness he knew she had would pop its way up to the surface. She'd deliberately push him by disobeying his earnest request, as she always liked to do. Even when she younger, she'd always constantly be pushing his buttons just for the sake of finding it funny.

And while it was one of the things he found both inspiring and amusing about her, it more often that not grated on his nerves.

But what happened if later, once she got home from the double-date, this Trey boy had hurt her? What then? Would Christian be left to pick up the pieces and comfort her, as he seemingly always was?

"Christian?" Ana's whispered, soft voice tore him out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes to see her lift her bare foot, only to nudge his legs playfully with her toes to get his attention.

Swallowing hard, he finally lifted his head, glancing up. The minute his eyes landed on her face and on what she was wearing, he felt... indescribable.

How had she grown so quickly, his little charge?

She was wearing a long-sleeved black dress with orange and pink printed flowers on it. Although she still seemed young and nervous, she also seemed strangely older in the dress as well. To his relief, she was wearing black footless leggings as well, which made him feel slightly better about her impending double-date because at least she was not showing her skin, but even then, she still looked like the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

"So, um, what do you... think?" He heard her ask softly, shyly, while she wrung her hands nervously at her sides. "Or is this too much for, like, a casual date?"

Her hair was still out, long and straightened below her shoulders. He caught a glowing pink flush to her cheeks as she quickly dodged his gaze, her eyes dropping down to her bare feet instead. Her eyes were intent on her toes as she wiggled them and the absurdity of the situation, of the fact that she were asking him for advice on what to wear on a date, it did not escape him.

But she looked beautiful. He straightened in the armchair until his back was pressed against it, lifting both hands to squeeze them down on the armrests as he eyed her outfit again.

He hadn't seen her in a dress before, with Ana having preference for sneakers, jeans, and shirts in all the times he'd known her throughout the years.

"You look..." He began, and then he noticed his voice sounded croaky. He cleared his throat gently, before starting again. "You look beautiful, Ana."

"Really? I look beautiful?" He saw her again, that time when she was younger, how she'd been so excited, so happy that he'd loved the picture she'd drawn of him. He still had the drawing folded up in the breast pocket of his shirt, even a few years later. But it was just... how much she valued his opinion, how much she thrived beneath his approval. It was humbling and he felt his heart seize. "You sure you aren't just saying that?"

He could see she was trying to shrug off his comment, that she was trying to appear unaffected. Yet he could feel her happiness, her absolute relief at him having said such a thing to her.

"I'm sure, Ana," he murmured solemnly, meeting her gaze. As she grinned down at him, he flexed his hands instinctively, gripping the leather armrests of the armchair tight.

He wanted to say it to her then. The urge to say it, it was almost painful.

 _Don't go. Stay with me. I don't think this double-date is such a good idea._

But then she started speaking and it was too late. "I'm really surprised, actually. About Trey even wanting to go on a double-date. He always seems like such a jerk and like he hates me?" Lifting up with her right leg, she'd shoved her foot between Christian's thighs, wiggling her toes around, nudging him. Another one of their games. "I don't even know whether to believe it or not. I don't even know whether Kate's being completely serious with me?"

Christian caught her foot, holding it by the ankle in both hands in his lap. Her foot felt cold for some reason, and as he began using both of his thumbs on each hand to massage and warm around her toes, he got what he knew was coming. Anastasia laughed breathlessly, struggling to get her foot free from his grasp. He smiled at the sound of her laughter, turning his grey eyes up to meet hers. She'd been ticklish ever since he could remember.

"Why wouldn't she be?" he asked, still touching her foot.

He could tell Ana was getting distracted; All he had to do was tickle or touch her feet, and her thoughts instantly were flown out of the window. "Huh? Why wouldn't she what?"

"Kate." He tightened his hold on her foot as Ana struggled to get free, and she laughed again as he pulled her foot higher up into his lap. In order to keep her balance, it had resulted in Ana having to hop forward on her one free foot. The instance she got right near the armchair, she had to grab hold of it with both hands to keep her balance, leaning over him. "You said you're not sure whether Kate's being completely serious with you?"

"I just don't know sometimes. Some part of me feels like it's almost a trick and that Trey _truly does_ hate me?" Her voice had taken on a different tone; She sounded breathless, winded, almost.

When he leaned his head back, he saw how close she was. With both hands gripping the armchair to keep herself upright while he was sitting in it, she was practically leaning over him, her face inches from his, her dark hair floating around her shoulders, her eyes shining and bright, mouth parted. Her other leg was right up against one of his while he still held her other legs foot prisoner in his hand.

"Why would anyone hate _you_?" he muttered, shaking his head at the thought. Anyone hating Ana, it was... incomprehensible.

He could see she was struggling not to burst out laughing over the fact that he was stroking her toes. She kept having to press her lips together to stifle her giggles down, her eyes flashing up with laughter.

"Ana?" Suddenly her mother's shrill voice broke through their conversation and Christian released Ana's foot at once. "Ana, I think your friend's car is here?"

"Oh, crap!" In a moment of distress, Ana raced around her bed, searching for her shoes.

He watched her while stroking around his chin with his fingers, trying not to laugh at how panicked she was, how ungraceful she was moving to kick on her sneakers. He had that urge again and he realized, if he didn't say it right now, it would be well and truly too late and he'd miss out.

"Ana." He uttered her name quietly, knowing her mother was any second's away from approaching upstairs to see what was taking Ana so long. The last thing he knew Ana needed was her mother overhearing her speaking to herself; He already knew how concerned Carla was for her daughter's mental well-being.

Ana paused from tying up her shoelaces, her blue eyes darting to him curiously. He opened his mouth to say it at the same time the mother called her name again. Too late. It was too late.

"I'll tell you all about it later tonight, OK?" she whispered frantically, and then without another word, she ran downstairs.

The feeling that overcame him at her dismissal of him, the way she'd ran downstairs without letting him finish... Christian dropped his head in his hands as he grunted in annoyance through gritted teeth.

 _If she came home later hurt... If that Trey boy touched so much as one hair on her head..._

It was the waiting that was the worst. The waiting for her to come home. The instance he heard a car door open from out on the street, he shot up out of the armchair, glancing through the curtains.

He saw Anastasia exit the car, then watched as she waved goodbye. Then he had to wait some more as she came in through the front door, speaking to her mother, explaining how the night went.

He listened carefully while pacing the room, waiting for her to come upstairs. When she finally did, he stopped pacing wildly, glancing towards the entryway of her bedroom just as Ana entered.

She stopped stock-still at the sight of him, then rolled her eyes as she gently closed the door so the mother wouldn't hear her talking to herself while he waited with bated breath. She didn't seem upset, at the very least, but she did not seem happy either. His grey eyes automatically ran down her clothes, seeking any physical bruises, anything wrong that indicated she was hurt. Only he found nothing whatsoever.

"Well?" he demanded anxiously as Ana moved past him, opening her wardrobe. "Are you all right?"

"Christian," she muttered while grabbing her pajamas out, her voice like a tired sigh. She did not elaborate or say anything else, even when she turned and saw him standing there, waiting.

"What happened?" he asked when she made no start to explain how her night went. "Did he hurt you?"

" _Hurt_ me?" She spun around while cradling her pajamas to her chest, her voice perplexed. She arched her eyebrows at him in question. " _Why_ would you think someone _hurt_ me?" She was being evasive and it was irritating him. He just wanted to know. He had a right to know, didn't he? It was his duty to know.

"Trey?" He did not understand. Earlier she was voicing her fears to him, her fears about it being a trick, and now... now she wasn't as open with him to speaking of how her double-date went? He ran a hand through his hair as she stared at him blankly, her blue eyes revealing nothing. Usually he could read her better than this. "You said he was a jerk to you?"

"Oh, _that_. Well, he wasn't so bad tonight." He was the one to spin around on the spot to give her privacy as Ana began sliding out of her leggings. He turned to face the wall, his mind frantic and fast. Why was she not telling him much? And what did she mean, by him not 'being as bad'?

He blinked at the curtains while trying to reign his feelings in. "So he didn't hurt you?" he asked slowly, trying to understand while he heard the rustling of Ana removing her clothes to get changed. "He wasn't 'as bad'?"

"Yeah, it's just as I said. He wasn't as bad."

"Meaning?" He demanded with a sigh through his nose.

"Meaning that... he wasn't as bad. I don't know what you want me to say." Once he knew she was fully changed in her pajamas, he turned back around to look at her, eyeing her carefully.

"How about you tell me a little more about what went on tonight?"

He strode closer to her while Ana focused on neatly folding her leggings. He noticed she wouldn't look at him; Even when she brushed past him to hang her dress back up into her wardrobe.

"Ana?" He prompted when she kept herself busy in her wardrobe.

"God, Christian!" He stood back in shock at the loud, piercing level of her voice. Not once had he heard her shout before. "Everything went fine, OK?" Flapping her arms at her sides in frustration, finally she turned around to look at him. All he could feel emulating off her was her own frustration and annoyance. "You're sounding like my father or a concerned parent or something!"

"Your _father_? A _concerned parent_?" He almost laughed out loud with his own frustration at her words. She'd never said such a thing to him before or accused him of that, no less. "Don't be ridiculous."

He huffed incredulously under his breath when she walked straight through him towards her bed, where she reached down, pulling back the sheets.

"Ana?" He tried again.

"Christian, please!" Her voice shook as she turned to look at him, her eyes desperate, flashing with urgency, "It's been a long night and I'm tired! I really don't need this right now!" As the last comment sunk in, it echoed in his head, over and over.

 _I don't need this right now!_

 _I don't need this..._

 _I don't need you..._

 _I don't need you._

She _didn't need him_ anymore. His purpose- her.

She was fine.

 **thank you so much for inspiring me to write by your lovely comments.**

 **as of next chapter, ana will be older. i would love to know your thoughts as usual :)**


	5. A kiss of change

_**A kiss of change...**_

She was being a rude brat, Ana realized, after her outburst after the double-date.

In her pajamas, she crashed down onto her bed on her belly, her face blaring with heat.

She didn't even have to turn to look to know that Christian was still standing where he was after she'd so rudely shouted at him. He was so silent, so still, standing there- probably out of his own sense of shock at her outburst.

It had been the first real time that Ana had lost her temper enough to shout at him.

It was embarrassing, how nasty she was to him. He didn't exactly deserve that, did he?

He had been in her life for so long, her constant companion whenever she was upset or troubled.

He seemed to know all the ways to make her laugh and also, all the ways to cheer her up whenever she needed it. With Christian, it always seemed so effortless.

Like he could see inside her almost, as if he were a part of her that knew her better than Ana sometimes knew herself at times.

And now, here she was, being terrible to the one person that had always stood by her- invisible as he was to the outside world, with her as the sole exception of being capable of seeing him. He always said she was his very favorite person in the whole entire world and yet, this was how she treated him?

Guilt swelled hotly in Ana's stomach as she propped herself up onto her elbows, her eyes blurring as she peered down at her fingers while playing with them.

Sometimes Ana never knew what was going on with herself lately. One minute, she felt fine, then barely a minute later, she felt horrible. She felt so temperamental at times; something she was not even sure was normal. Was this how every girl her age felt? So unpredictable with their moods?

She knew she had sworn to tell him everything that had happened as soon as she got home after the double-date. He was only concerned and was asking her how it went and usually, she never hesitated to tell Christian anything.

Usually nothing was off-limits between them as he was her earliest and longest friend, her guardian angel, her imaginary friend just for her. He'd seen her grow taller and fill out during puberty. He even knew when Ana first got and suffered through her period.

Yet talking of what had happened tonight on the double-date with Trey Michael's and her best friend Kate, suddenly this of all things felt too personal, too embarrassing for her to have to tell him.

What if he laughed at her or it made him see her differently?

She hadn't meant to take her frustrations out on him, but he was there. He was always there and she couldn't help it. He was the nearest person she could get angry at.

Turning on her side as she sobbed regretfully, she saw him standing exactly where he had been after she'd shouted at him with both hands shoved deeply inside his trouser pockets. He reminded her of a statue in that instance, his eyes cautious and wary as he stared back at her. How could she have been so mean?

"I... I'm sorry for yelling at you just then," she managed weakly. "I didn't mean to. Tonight was just really...embarrassing."

A small smile came across her lips as he sighed, finding her apology and the gentle tone of her voice his motivation to approach where she was, sprawled out on the covers of her bed. At least she hadn't truly offended him; It didn't seem as though she had.

"I'm sorry," she murmured again regretfully with a wince. "Lie next to me?"

Ana shuffled over to make some room for him, sniffling. He crawled onto the bed on his knees then laid down on his stomach next to her, only he was too tall that his long legs and shoes dangled off the edge of her bed.

She hummed in amusement and sniffed again as she propped her head on one hand, staring at him. They were laying so close on her bed that the entire length of their bodies were pressed together; His hip to hers, his arm, to hers.

She didn't even feel anything but excitement when Christian pointedly brought his right leg that was closest to hers over, shoving it between the both of hers.

"Does this mean I might be forgiven?" she asked, her voice breathless with laughter as he started nudging the hard leather of his shoe at her bare foot.

"Maybe a little," he murmured back.

All Ana could do was try her very hardest not to laugh out loud when they began a game of footsies, nudging each other competitively; Ana with her bare toe and ankle, and Christian with the hard, coarse leather of his shiny shoe.

She heard herself breathing heavily in the room as she stared at Christian's face while they continued battling with their feet, both their eyes gleaming with mischievous humor and enjoyment. Then a huge teeth-baring smile spread across Christian's face as he laughed breathlessly at their little game and Ana felt her entire chest upwards glow fire hot with heat. It had been happening for her a lot lately- every time he smiled or laughed, in fact.

Weirdly enough Christian was the only guy Ana really didn't mind being close to. She could sit on top of the armrest in the armchair he liked to sit in while resting her feet in his lap without a single self-conscious thought into just how close her bare feet were to his groin.

She could even hug him for hours and not even once begin to feel uncomfortable about it. Hell, she even got changed while he was in the room with her- though he made sure to turn and look in the opposite direction every time she did. Yet like tonight when it came to another guy like Trey, she had felt so out of place and awkward. Why was it so easy for her to be close to Christian and not another guy?

It was so confusing. Her mind flashed back at what had happened during her lunch break at school with Kate. A conversation they had shared just a week ago...

 _"Who do you think is the hottest guy at school?" Kate had asked curiously as they had sat at a table, Ana fixated on scooping up the small last bits of her vanilla yogurt with her spoon._

 _She had glanced up from her tub of yogurt to stare at her friend thoughtfully, slipping her spoon into her mouth, sucking off the yogurt. She hadn't really thought of it before, just who in school she found was 'hot', as girls her age often liked to call it._

 _"You know who I already think is hot obviously," Kate had gone on with a laugh. "But who do you think is hot?"_

 _Ana's mind had flashed to Christian for some reason which had confused her._

 _She'd felt it a lot lately; Something had changed, something... different about her feelings. She had looked at Christian one afternoon on their walk home from school together- like had really looked at him more critically than normal- and had discovered she had found him handsome. And 'hot', as girls said her age about other guys._

 _Whenever Christian smiled at her, how he made her laugh and feel better whenever she was sad. How deep and gray the irises of his eyes were. His hair and how funny he was, how he had well-defined muscles in his arms and biceps whenever he wore his shirt-sleeves rolled up. How tall he was and how good he made her feel about herself._

He _was_ her _definition of hot. She hadn't even considered it before until that day a week ago._

That was why it was so confusing. Christian wasn't exactly real, was he? Well, he was real to her because only she could see him and only she could touch him, but he did not exist to anyone else. So how could she find him hot?

Ever since that day, she had began to feel remarkably different whenever they were around each other. It was like she felt more aware of him. It had came on so suddenly, it was confusing. She didn't know what to think.

And then tonight, during the double-date, Trey had tried to hold her hand in the movie theater when it was dark. It had made her feel so uncomfortable.

After the movie had finished, Kate and her guy seemed to have gotten along really well and they had ended up kissing outside on the street.

She knew Trey had the same expectations in mind; He'd turned to her expectantly, then had muttered something about them kissing, only Ana hadn't wanted to. She hadn't felt comfortable enough to and now Trey no doubt thought she was a frigid loser.

She hadn't kissed a guy before let alone had her first boyfriend yet Kate had obviously found it so easy to kiss the guy she was interested in. What did that make Ana? A total prude? Abnormal?

Throughout her stressing, she felt Christian nudge at her foot again with his shoe disrupting her thoughts. She peered over at him with a tight, forced smile, the temperature rising in her cheeks.

For once, her eyes dropped to his mouth and his lips.

She'd never really taken good notice of them before, of the shape of them and just how warm they probably would be had she touched them. She caught herself wondering what it would be like if she pressed her lips to his.

Would she feel him just like she usually could? Would it feel like a regular real kiss? Not that she had any real basis to go off on, of course.

She licked her lips, wondering what he would do if she actually had moved over on the bed to kiss him. Only she knew she could never be that brave, even with him of all people, and she sighed heavily, returning her eyes to her hands as she traced around her thumbnail with her index finger.

She knew he was waiting for her to begin explaining what had happened tonight on the double-date. He didn't even have to ask her for her to know that. It was something he always did; Christian was always there for her, always waiting for her to unload her troubles onto him. Even if Ana did not know she had any troubles to begin with.

She wasn't sure how to tell him, but she decided to just say what came inside her mind anyway.

"OK, so I suppose I'll tell you what happened. We saw this action movie that I can't even remember the name of but it was... gory and disgusting. You wouldn't have liked it. _I_ didn't like it." She kept her eyes low to her hands as she spoke softly. "And like I said, Trey was better than usual. He wasn't a jerk to me as much as he usually is only..." She hesitated, biting her lip as she inhaled deeply. How did she say this? Already her stomach was fluttering with butterflies. "Only after the movie finished and we were outside, he wanted to, um, kiss me."

She didn't look to see if he was following her. She just rubbed her lips together, heat running around her face again.

"Kate was making out with her guy. Like really, _really_ getting into it and Trey sort of turned to me and looked at me. I could tell he was expecting us to do it too and he eventually asked if we were gonna kiss as well."

She covered both hands over her warm cheeks, the embarrassment over the memory making her feel sick.

"He forced himself onto you?" Christian finally spoke. Even without looking she could tell his teeth were gritted. The question was an angry growl.

"What? No, he didn't do that!" She laughed nervously at the quick assumption he'd made. "But it was just really embarrassing because I knew he wanted to do it too yet I just... I didn't want to. I felt really, _really uncomfortable_ at the thought of doing it with him, you know? He's always been a horrible jerk to me at school so even the thought of getting close enough and kissing him?"

She shuddered in disgust.

"He probably thinks I'm a frigid loser now but I just couldn't do it."

" _You_? A frigid loser?" He sounded disbelieving and at the same time, the words as they rolled off his tongue had sounded odd. She wasn't sure he knew what 'frigid loser' even meant but she didn't bother explaining further.

"I don't feel comfortable around him and sometimes, I feel like I won't ever be able to kiss someone unless I can truly trust them."

She kept her palms pressed to her too hot cheeks, avoiding him still on the bed.

"Kate probably thinks I'm some weirdo or a lesbian or something now because she asked me about it on the way home, why didn't I kiss him? So now our friendship is probably ruined and she'll never speak to me ever again."

"I hardly think she wouldn't be your friend after that," he pointed out, always her voice of reason.

She knew was blabbing on while letting her mind run off into different scenarios only he didn't seem to mind listening. He never did. "I just didn't feel comfortable though, at least not as comfortable as I am when I'm around you. It's like with any other guy I get so nervous and do stupid things, but... when I'm with you, I'm completely fine. I just don't get it."

Christian remained silent, listening to his charge as she confessed her confusion out loud.

His chest had fallen in instant relief the minute she began explaining what had happened and he had discovered that fortunately she had not been in any way harmed tonight. But he frankly was not expecting this. The very last thing he was expecting was for Ana to talk about kissing and how Trey had wanted to kiss her and how she hadn't wanted to. Apparently this was the reason for her upset; Not wanting to kiss the boy and feeling strange that she hadn't.

It felt surreal, the conversation they were having.

He was unsure of the appropriate way to respond. His hands had twitched on the pillow as he lay down beside her on the bed, his fingers physically aching with both the need yet uncertainty of whether he should reach out to comfort her or not. Somehow he did not think touching her out of comfort was what she needed from him. She just needed someone to speak to, someone to speak her own frustrations and insecurities to even if Christian was beginning to feel inept when it came to this topic.

He had not kissed a woman either, to be honest. Kissing and other forms of affection and love were not something freely expressed where he came from. The counsel elders usually refrained from any touch, preferring to nod out of respect or courtesy rather than anything else.

He was lost at sea on this one yet he could feel Ana's mortification and doubts as if they were his own.

"Remember that movie we watched recently together on the couch while Mom had gone to bed? The one where the two characters went back to his apartment and they started kissing?" Ana went on softly as he tried to follow her.

Vaguely he could remember the movie she was referring to. The male character had invited the female back to his apartment and they had gazed into each other's eyes deeply before he was placing his mouth on hers.

Christian had felt perplexed yet fascinated over what they had been doing at the time- having never seen such a thing before. The camera had even whirled real close to their faces as their mouths had opened, and he'd caught a glimpse of the man's tongue entering the woman's mouth.

"I think I remember," he admitted uncertainly, his voice sounding strange to him.

"Well, _that's_ what kissing is. That's what they were doing, they were kissing." Ana tried her very hardest to hold in a nervous laugh at what she was saying. She couldn't believe she was saying this, especially not to Christian, describing what a kiss was. Usually Christian was the one who explained things _to her_ , _not_ the other way around. "That's pretty much what Trey wanted to do with me only I didn't feel comfortable enough to."

Ana braced herself before letting herself look in his direction quickly. Christian appeared in deep thought as he stared at his hands, his forehead creased, eyes narrowed. He was curling his fingers into fists, a repetitive motion.

Curiosity burned within her as she bit down on her lip again. She found herself aching to know. "Have you, um, done it before?" she asked breathlessly before she could stop herself. Her cheeks burned at her inelegant question as Christian turned his head to look at her, meeting her gaze.

"Done what?"

"You know, kiss someone before?"

"Never." A strange feeling like relief swelled in Ana's gut at his admission. Apparently she was not the only inexperienced one.

"So you never, um... met a woman that you liked back where you're from? Are there even women in your world or wherever it is that you've came from?"

"Any physical forms of affection were always strictly forbidden."

"Oh." It occurred to Ana that they were both whispering to each other with their faces inches apart, like they were gossiping or speaking of something dangerous. "Do you ever wonder what it's like? To be kissed?" She cocked her head to the side as she waited for his answer.

"Sometimes, sure. Like in that movie you mentioned that we had watched together, when it had came on it had looked... interesting."

"Would you ever wanna try kissing me?"

Christian felt as if his brain had plopped out of his head at the low gush of words that had escaped his charge's mouth. When he went to glance over at her, assuming he had misheard her, it was too late and he realized she had shifted closer towards him on the bed, her blue eyes bright and eager, unlike anything he had ever seen before.

At her unexpected closeness to him, their noses bumped and touched. He watched as Ana immediately pulled back with a laugh, and then before Christian knew it, Ana was showing him what kissing was and how it felt like when it happened to him.

At first, all he registered was how unbelievably pillow-soft and warm Ana's lips felt as they pressed up against the lining of his. Then having immediate mental flashbacks of that movie she mentioned, how the male character acted during the kiss, how he'd touched the female's hair and cheek, he clenched his eyes closed and began moving his lips against Ana's, turning his head slightly while trying to imitate the male actor.

Ana hadn't even been sure he would want to kiss her yet here they were, laid out on her bed together, leaning over with their heads, their lips attached as Christian moved his gently against hers in a slow rhythm that made her heart burst. She tried to follow the movement of his lips with her own, her eyes opening then fluttering closed several times as she made sure he was still closing his.

Unlike with Trey's suggestion tonight to kiss, while doing this with Christian, Ana felt no fear or worry or sense of unease whatsoever. She felt truly relaxed and comfortable as she focused on nothing else but reminding herself to breathe only through her nose as she relished in the sensation of Christian's lips moving against hers.

Now she thought she could properly understand why kissing was such a big deal to people. She felt her heart race when Christian brought a hand to the right side of her face, four fingers gently stroking her hot cheek while his thumb began tracing below her chin. For someone who apparently did not understand kissing or did not even do it in his own world wherever he had come from, Ana was amazed at how good Christian could be.

A frightening thing happened to her when Christian deepened the kiss, something that infected her from the top of her head, straight down to her very toes. It was like an uncontrollable out-of-body experience. As her mouth opened a little and his tongue brushed along her top row of teeth curiously, Ana felt her entire body tremble and shake as a delicious set of tingles infected her.

She never realized kissing someone could feel this wonderful and, amazing of all, it was her earliest and longest friend- someone only she had the power to see- that was doing it to her, that was making her feel this way.

After what seemed to her like hours of experimentally kissing, Christian pulled back and Ana did the same. She was panting heavily, her face feeling bright red as she turned away from him to lick her lips.

"Holy crap," she gushed out unsteadily. "That was... _wow_! _Incredible_!"

Stunned at first afterwards Christian couldn't speak, let alone think. But then he thought his charge's words summed it up quite accurately. It was incredible.

...

After that, everything had changed between the 2 of them in ways neither of them could have ever believed possible yet Ana's harsh words still filled his head, ringing in his mind.

 _I don't need you._

He could sense the time was near approaching yet he wasn't sure exactly when.

Now after what had happened that night, kissing each other on the bed, Ana had changed and he could sense it palpably. Every time he waited for her to walk home with her during the afternoon after school now, he was met with genuine happiness and an excited smile. He hadn't had her being so excited and happy to see him since she were a young girl.

And during the nights when it was safe and Ana had said goodnight to her mother before retreating up to her bedroom, she'd greet him with a kiss, enveloping her arms around his neck while he sat in the armchair waiting for her.

Or even as they laid around on her bed speaking, she'd surprise him with an unexpected kiss, eager to experience kissing with him as much as she could. All the while that impending sense of dread wouldn't leave him. He knew the time was approaching to leave her. She no longer needed him or required him in her life anymore.

The fact that he had managed to stick around for as long as he had was a surprise enough. More so was that the nature of their relationship had changed course especially.

...

The night it came he'd sat in his usual armchair, a leg crossed over the other, listening to his charge's slow breaths as she slept soundlessly. He had felt it all day, a feeling of fading, a feeling that he was about to disappear.

He didn't feel ready for it. Especially not after how the nature of their relationship had changed so dramatically.

It was more now than just mere friendship and respect. It was love; A closeness he never knew he could share with someone before, least of all not the charge he was assigned to.

But in this, he knew he was powerless. He couldn't prevent or stop what was bound to happen. When his time came to an end, it just came.

Sighing restlessly, he stood from the armchair, wandering over to where Ana slept on her bed. He turned, sitting carefully on the edge of her mattress, watching her. Even while sleeping, she appeared so beautifully peaceful, so content. Her mouth was slightly parted as she slept, one arm beneath the covers, the other resting against the pillow near her head. Her thin wrist was turned upward, her palm up fingers curled, as if even while dreaming, she was waiting for his touch.

Reaching over quietly, he touched her wrist, stroking around it tenderly with his fingers. And then her blue eyes opened and she blinked heavily, squinting over at him. He hadn't meant to wake her.

"Hi," she murmured sleepily with a smile.

Christian wondered whether he ought to tell her then. Ideally, he knew he should warn her and tell her beforehand. It would be unkind not to and he didn't want to break her heart.

"Hi," he murmured back while thinking over what to say. Then he felt that horrible sensation again, as if his skin was being pulled high off his bones. It couldn't be long now. He had to tell her before it got too late. She deserved this. She deserved a proper goodbye. "You know you're my favorite person, don't you?" he whispered.

"Sort of but that's only because you're my favorite person as well," she muttered with a smile. It almost made his heart burst.

"And you're beautiful and strong and you're entirely capable of being on your own now," he went on.

She must have caught something off in his tone.

At that Ana lifted her head to peer at him as if sensing the worst was coming. She appeared immediately alert. "What's going on? Why are you acting different? What's happening?"

His eyes burned as he dropped them to the bed sheets instead. Peering directly into her face, it was suddenly too painful. "Ana, we both knew this was coming eventually. I think it's coming tonight."

"What? Are you... are you leaving?"

"I think it's time. You're old enough now. You're 15. You don't need me anymore."

"H-how can you say that?" He heard her swallow as her eyes widened. "But I'll always need you," she said, her voice wavering. Her blue eyes began to moisten with tears. He couldn't handle it if she cried.

"Not anymore. I know it's coming, it's time. I can feel it in my bones. I think I have to go now, Ana."

She sat up suddenly against the headboard, reaching out. She grabbed his arm and held on tightly. "But I never want you to go! You're my... my best friend! You're the only one I completely trust! You've always been around!"

"Ana, I'm sorry. I can't stop this but if I could I-" The words got caught in his throat as she moved. Before he knew it she had thrown herself over him, both of her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders as she knelt on her knees.

"Please don't leave me. Not now, Christian, I'm begging you. I can't be without you! I...I've known you my whole life!"

"Ana, I can't stop this."

"You said you were here to protect me? That you were assigned to protect me in life?" There was sudden anger and hurt in her voice that he did not understand.

"I am. I was."

"So what about after school? What about when after school begins and I need you again? What about getting a job or... or trying to be an adult? W-what if I need you and your guidance?"

"Then you might just have to try to get by without me." As she pressed her forehead against his, Christian heard her sob despairingly.

"I'm sorry but I can't. I don't know how to get by."

He reached up, stroking her face and her hair with his hands gently. "Ssh, please don't cry. You'll be fine without me. You'll see."

"But I don't want to be without you! I'm not ready yet! I'll never be ready!"

"Ana, most aren't as lucky. Most don't get as long as I have to be with their assigned one," he tried to explain in a measurable tone while resting his chin on the top of her scalp. "We've had 15 years together. 15 years that others don't usually get. Let's just be thankful for that."

"But I love you!" He could feel himself fading, even through the shock of her words. He wanted to tell her that he loved her too.

He would never forget her. Hopefully she would never forget him. To be assigned her as his charge- it had been a true honor.

Just as he bent his head to kiss her goodbye on the forehead, Ana felt him vanish and fade beneath her. Her arms fell from their hold around his shoulders until she felt nothing but empty air instead. The bed and the space where he were sitting was empty without so much as a single trace of him to hang onto, just like that.

He'd gone before her very own eyes- her best friend. Her most favorite person on earth. Her first kiss... her _everything_. He'd gone.

SOMEWHERE MILES AWAY...

Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings, was running late to dinner at his parents house; A usual get-together with the family. Shutting off his laptop and grabbing his satchel, he locked his office door then strode out towards the elevator to take him down to ground floor level.

He checked his wristwatch in the elevator once the doors slid open and he got in. It was already ten-thirty at night and he was well and truly late. His mother Grace had probably already dished out dinner right now and his siblings were no doubt already finished and onto dessert.

Panicked, he ran a hand through his hair and blew out heavily through his mouth, staring up at the illuminated panel above the doors that told him what floor he was currently descending. Four... Three... _Bloody slow elevators_. He began tapping his right foot against the floor impatiently. Two...

One.

At last, the doors slid open and he darted out, breaking out into a run. Seattle at this time of the night was thickly congested with traffic and he knew he probably would not make it as quickly as he would have liked. He found his driver and head of security Taylor waiting for him across the road in his parked car, and he waved him down before beginning to jog across the road.

He'd failed to look both ways. The last thing he heard was a horn bleeping at him as he ran into the middle of the road. Then the last thing he saw was pitch-black darkness.

At the same time the incident occurred an angel was leaving the Earth world and his young charge. The two souls merged together, creating a phenomena rarely known.

One soul leaves a body while the other, an angel, takes that souls place.

 **Sorry for taking long to update this one. I hope it is not too badly written. I would love to know your thoughts and feelings so far :) Thank you, hope my english or this plot isn't horrendous either**


	6. being human

_Being Human_

"Christian?"

The 1st thing he heard was a woman's voice floating around in the darkness surrounding him. It sounded as if he were underwater, as if the voice were calling him from miles and miles away.

"Christian, if you can hear me at all, can you give me a little sign?" The woman's voice was there again, floating around him in the darkness. It was a voice he did not recognize, a gentle coaxing voice in the distance. But it was not the voice he longed to hear; It was not his Ana's, his charge's voice. "Even the merest twitch of your fingers will do."

Who did this voice belong to? And why were they asking for him to twitch his fingers?

He tried to do so only to find both of his hands felt stiff and heavy. His fingers wouldn't seem to cooperate.

"Mr Grey?" That voice again. "If you can hear me at all, please-"

It felt like the hardest thing in the world but he managed. He lifted his eyelids, being brutally blinded by white fluorescent light surrounding him. He clenched his eyes shut again, recoiling away from the harsh light.

"Good job." That woman was still there. "Are you able to do that again for me?"

Bracing himself against the light, he slowly reopened his grey eyes again, this time the light not as blinding as it had been moments before. A wet sheen covered his eyes and he had to blink it away furiously before a woman came into view. She was young though he could not tell her age. Young with dark hair in a ponytail, wearing a skirt and bland light blue T-shirt. She had on a pair of medical gloves. Who was she?

"Well done," she whispered with an encouraging smile as he simply stared back at her. "I suppose you've got a lot of questions for me, but let me get a few things straight first. Firstly, my name is Betty and I'm your nurse. I'm going to be looking after you during your stay here. Secondly, you're a very lucky man."

Nurse? She was going to be looking after him during his stay? His stay where? And why was he lucky?

He closed his eyes again, thinking back hardly. All he could remember was Ana. Ana pleading for him not to go, her arms around him.

Was he back in his world, back with the counsel elders?

Opening his eyes and finally taking a brisk look around at his surroundings, he realized not. The room was completely white. A machine was beeping next to a bed he was sitting in, with tubes and strange looking things around it. A tube was even hooked to his arm, sticking to the skin in the crook of his elbow then trailing towards a bag near that machine. A clear liquid was dripping from the bag.

He opened his mouth about to ask where he was, only the oddest thing happened. He had never experienced anything like it before. His throat seemed to close over so no words got out and as he swallowed in a panic, it stung the back of his throat. The woman- this nurse Betty? - must have seen the fear gathering in his eyes as he peered at her again because she held a placating hand up to him.

"Just try to relax, OK? Let me explain what's happening." She found a chair and pulled it beside the bed, sitting. "You've been in an accident. You were brought into Emergency fifteen hours ago and you've only just woken up from being unconscious. Considering the type of accident you experienced, you're extremely lucky."

Accident?

Swallowing again and wincing at the pain, he realized he was wearing nothing but a white thing over him. No underwear, no shoes. Just some weird white thing that went down to his knees. Something covered both of his feet, while one went all the way up to his knee. It looked like some sort of padded boot.

"Your left leg is broken," the nurse went on calmly. "And you've also suffered a fractured rib. Aside from that, you'll definitely make a full recovery. You'll just need to give it some time."

A broken leg? A fractured rib? How?

"You were hit by an oncoming car," she went on as though she could read his thoughts. "You crossed the road and the car hit you. The driver was very traumatized. It was lucky the driver of the car wasn't driving any faster than he was otherwise your injuries would have been a lot more extensive. Do you remember anything of what happened?"

He shook his head briskly to show he didn't.

"Well, you're here at the Virginia Mason Hospital right now. You arrived here last night to Emergency at 10.35 pm in the evening. It's now Sunday, the next day after your accident." The woman checked her watch. "It's now currently noon."

While he understood what the nurse was telling him he did not understand how this was possible. Why was he here, right now, in the hospital? Could he truly have passed down into the Earth world? Apparently so, if this woman was seeing him right before her very own eyes. She could see him. Another person- one that was not Ana- could actually see him! How?

Christian opened his mouth as his eyes narrowed at the woman, perplexed. The words formed on his lips but his voice would not come out. The nurse seemed to recognize this.

"Here, some water might help to lubricate your vocal cords." She stood from the chair, moving to grab something. Then she was returning with a plastic cup and a straw filled with what appeared to be water. "Lean up slowly and gently to make it easier for yourself to swallow if you can," she beckoned softly. "But try to limit movement in your legs."

He tilted his head forward and then she was assisting him, moving the cup closer. She helped slip the straw between his lips and Christian stared at her as he sucked his cheeks in, guiding the water up from the straw into his mouth. The first mouthful he swallowed was a Godsend.

Sighing contently through his nostrils as the cool water flowed down his throat, making that sting disappear, he sucked in another mouthful then sank his head back down gently. The nurse sat the cup with the straw near the bed, turning to look at him again as he swallowed the mouthful down.

He brought out his tongue, wetting his dry lips as the woman did something else, checking something on that odd beeping machine.

"You..." He started, his voice rough and strained. The nurse glanced at him as he cleared his throat gruffly. He tried again, "You... can see me?"

His eyebrows furrowed as the woman appeared as though she was trying not to laugh. "Of course I can see you, Christian." She reached out, gently brushing her fingers against his knuckles and along his hand. Christian felt his heart plummet at the feeling of her fingers touching his skin. She could feel him, too? She could actually see and touch him, yet she were not his Ana? "What makes you ask that?"

The look on Ana's face as he left her tore at his heart painfully. He'd left her upset and he had to find her. He had to show her that somehow, he was here. Somehow by some miraculous chance, a miraculous turn of fate, he was here. He had crossed over into the Earth world.

"Where's Ana?" he whispered gutterally, searching for her wildly. There was a small window outside the room but the white blinds were closed. "I need to find Ana and show her I'm here." His eyes flew to the nurse again desperately as he slipped his hand out from beneath hers. He reached over, grabbing her hand instead strongly, "Can you take me to Ana?"

"Ana? Um, I'm sorry sir but I don't think I can-"

An unfamiliar emotion lashed at him, making him feel hot. "- I need to find Ana!" Before he knew it, the words spilled out of his mouth, harsh and desperate. "She's my charge and I left her upset! I made a pledge, a commitment to her! I need to-" The machine started beeping through his words frantically.

"Sir, please, you need to calm down. Right now we have to focus on your recovery."

No, no it was not good enough. He needed to see Ana and he needed to see her now. He needed to make her see so that he could make her feel better. It was his duty after all.

Agitated, he grit his teeth, his chest heaving as he tried to get up from the bed. At his movement, the nurse Betty was immediately off on a tyrant.

"Christian, Mr Grey, please! You can't move-"

He learned his lesson when he tried to kick his feet off the bed, ignoring her. A harsh groan escaped through his teeth as he jolted back against the bed, a sharp instant stabbing pain radiating through both his legs as well as the center of his ribs. His eyes grew wet and moist as he hissed in agony as well as shock. Pain was not something he had experienced before, certainly not a pain belonging to him and him alone.

He was so used to feeling Ana's own feelings, Ana's own pain and feelings of insecurity or rejection or hurt. He was not prepared for this.

"See, Mr Grey?" The nurse muttered gently, treating him as if he were a wild animal on the verge of becoming dangerous. "Please, you need to listen to me. I understand you are very confused and frustrated right now, not to mention desperate to find this... this Ana person? But you really do need to remain in that bed until your body heals."

There suddenly came a knock on the door and the nurse glanced towards the sound nervously.

"You have visitors. Your parents."

Parents?

"They care about you a lot. They were even in here 1st thing last night while you were in Emergency. Do you feel ready to see them?" She may as well have been speaking in another language.

He did not have parents. The concept of parents were something for the Earth world, for people like Ana who were born into this world, not for him.

As the nurse strode to the door, he tried to listen as she spoke to two people outside it. From what he could make sense of, it was a man and a woman seeking to enter the room to see him. What had she just referred to it as? Parents?

Suddenly the door swung further open. Christian watched as a woman came barreling into the room, her eyes wet and red from what appeared to be crying. A hand was clutched against her chest as if she were frightened of what she were about to see and as her eyes focused on him sitting there, in the bed, they slowly roamed down to the strange boot wrapped over his foot.

"Oh, Christian," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Thank God you're all right! When I heard the news last night I was so petrified that I was never going to see you again!"

All he could simply do was sit there uncomfortably and stare as the woman began crying. And then he stiffened, watching the woman warily as she approached the bed slowly, eyeing him again. His heart jolted in surprise with what she did next.

As if she were losing her composure, without warning the woman bent down and flung herself at him, wrapping an arm around his neck carefully while he felt her smooth warm cheek rest against the side of his. She smelled faintly of perfume, yet it was not overly strong to him. Oddly, he found the smell strangely welcoming and calm.

"Carrick and I were so worried when you didn't make it to dinner last night," she carried on, sniffing and weeping over him. "Mia and Elliot wanted to come in but I told them to call in another night once you're feeling better, baby." Mia? Elliot? "No doubt you'll be needing all the rest you can get."

As the woman shook against him, he blinked past her to notice a man standing in the doorway as well. He appeared the same age as the woman, his hair neatly slicked back, salt and pepper grey. He looked red in the face, as though he had been crying earlier himself but Christian noticed the man was restraining himself now in trying to keep strong.

"Son, you worried us half to death," the man muttered softly.

Son? He couldn't possibly be their son, could he? He was here solely for Ana. He was put on this Earth for one purpose and that purpose alone was his charge, wasn't it?

The instance he spoke, the woman shoved herself away from Christian, leaving him be. He could feel some of her tears staining and wetting around his jaw.

Glancing between the two, he watched as the woman smiled faintly at the man, her face still red from sobbing. Then the two exchanged a hug, the pair of them inhaling deeply in relief.

Observing their reaction, although he did not know them Christian could only recognize one thing.

Whoever these two people were, they clearly loved him.

...

The woman and man stuck around for over an hour, speaking to him, explaining who they were and answering his questions as much as they could. They were patient and incredibly understanding over him not knowing them or recognizing them, surprisingly.

Apparently the woman's name was Grace while the man's name was Carrick. They had adopted him at a young age- or so they thought. Mia and Elliot were the other children they had adopted- his siblings.

It did not make much sense to Christian but thinking too much about it was now beginning to make his head feel funny and oddly achy.

Eventually Nurse Betty interrupted to tell the pair it was time to leave. They both stood from their chairs and Christian was left stunned again as Grace approached him, only to cup both sides of his face in her hands as she leaned over the bed. Her face was disarmingly stern.

"Don't you ever put us through this situation ever again, do you understand?" she half shouted yet he also heard a strange undercurrent of tenderness there beneath the surface for him as well. "I very nearly died at the news when I got the phone call! Promise me you'll be careful next time, won't you?"

He could only thank being around Ana for as long as he had to be able to gauge and comprehend what the woman was feeling. If it weren't for learning from his young charge over the years on what true emotion had looked like, Christian wouldn't have understood at all. The woman Grace was seeking reassurance from him as she gently stroked his cheeks.

"I promise," he assured her weakly. The laugh she gave him while bending down to kiss his cheek affectionately left him feeling even stranger.

"Good boy. We'll come and check on you sometime tomorrow, OK? Maybe I'll even sneak you in some of your favorite foods so you don't have to put up with bland hospital food, huh?" Grace winked at him before leaving the room. The man Carrick nodded as he left the room after her.

Christian stared after them, unsure of what to think.

But becoming attuned to the feelings of others thanks to his young charge, he thought he could see that the pair were sincere and loving. Why they were mistaking him for their son, he was not entirely sure. However he liked it. Whoever these two were, he realized he liked them a lot.

Alone now left in silence in the room, he leaned back against the pillow, allowing his eyes to close again. A dull ache spread across his heart, a hollow melancholy feeling that had nothing at all to do with the twinges of pain in his lower ribs and his legs.

Nice and as filled with love that these people evidently were, he was still left feeling something lacking. He knew immediately what that missing piece was. They were not her. They were not his favorite person in the world.

With his eyes shut, it made it easier to think of her. To see her again; Her face, her smile, those bright blue eyes of hers. It made it easier to hear her; Her soft, low-pitched laughter. How she'd snort occasionally if he got her laughing hard enough. Her breathlessness every time he'd stroke and tickle the smooth soles of her feet. He felt his lips twitch fondly into a smile at the thought of her.

Reopening his eyes, he dipped his chin down low, searching and finding those marks on his chest. There they were, still as they always were, three round marks- three scars of his initiation, his pledge of loyalty to his charge.

 _Do you, Christian Grey, accept Anastasia Rose Steele to be your charge in the Earth world?_

 _Will you, Christian Grey, die for her if the cause was necessary?_

 _Will you, Christian Grey, watch over her from this day forward, ensuring she is free from pain and suffering? You willingly give your life over to protect hers?_

Even now, he was still committed to be true to his word. Someday, somehow... he would find her.

Though he did not understand it he had clearly crossed over into the Earth world himself, into a visible body; This was made clear by the fact that others had seen him and were able to touch him rather than his Ana being the sole one that could.

Also the pain. The feelings of pain that he hadn't felt before while being around Ana- pains surfacing around his body that were clearly his own and not Ana's own personal feelings secondhand.

He felt all too... human.

...

Being human was a larger awakening than Christian had anticipated.

He'd fallen asleep, having dozed off for a while in the hospital bed, only to have awoken to a horrible nagging feeling in his lower abdomen. It was a tight heavy pressure that he had not experienced before in his other life. Because the nurse was not there, he had tried to drift back off to sleep only to be brutally awoken barely fifteen minutes later to the horrid sensation of something warm and gushing being pulled out from him.

He had called out to the nurse Betty, only for her to calmly tell him what had happened.

"It's OK," she'd reassured him, taking her seat again. "We had to install a catheter last night in case you urinated. Given your situation where your legs are in the state they are now and it's not possible for you to move out of bed, you're likely to need to wear it for a while."

Apparently a catheter, as she'd named it, was some sort of tube they'd inserted to remove urine from his bladder into a bag. The nurse said she'd empty it every four hours- something that baffled Christian. Urinating was not something he had to do before. Nor was eating, for that matter.

He also learned how annoying it could be to go for too long without eating if you were from the Earth world. His stomach had started growling and vibrating with a painful feeling, which had resulted in the nurse going somewhere to retrieve him something to eat. Eating was just as strange. He'd seen his charge eat, if course, but experiencing it for himself was a different matter entirely.

It took a while to get used to putting something in his mouth only to chew it into pulp with his own teeth. Swallowing it down after tasting all the different exotic flavors available in the Earth world were just as bewildering. Now he thought he had better appreciation and understanding into what his young charge went through.

But enjoyable as eating was and tasting the different flavors, something was always missing; something never far from the back of his mind as he settled into the routine of becoming human in the Earth world.

The instance he was allowed to get up from the bed... the instance his bones had recovered and his ribs were no longer sore... he was determined to start searching to find her.

 _His Ana_. His _most favorite person_ in the world.

 **This was just a rather introduction chapter to human Christian, hoping you won't mind. thanks so much for being so kind, your kind words and support really touches me as someone who feels not all that confident in writing. it really does inspire me to write so thank you! love to know your thoughts on this one? excited for ana and christian to meet again? any problems with writing or phrasing, you are welcome to point it out as i appreciate any advice.**

 **as a question regarding the plot should i let ana immediately meet christian again or should i let it linger in anticipation a bit? ;)**


	7. living the human life

**_Living the human life..._**

Before Christian knew it, the nurse Betty and another doctor were telling him that he had made a full recovery and he was allowed to leave the hospital the following morning.

The past week he had gotten better at understanding the new urges that happened to him; Urges such as needing to eat and use the bathroom. Now that he was feeling better the pain wasn't troubling him as much as he thought it was at the start either.

He could now use his legs without needing the nurse Betty or crutches to assist him with standing upright. He could also tell now when the right time was to use the bathroom before the urges got too strong and uncomfortable.

Despite all the new sensations and bodily discoveries he was going through, Ana was still not far from his mind. The past few nights, he had found it increasingly difficult to drift off to sleep in the hospital bed, his mind whirling with constant worries and thoughts about his charge. He always tended to stress the most at night, with wondering where she was and what she was doing while he was stuck in bed, healing as a human in the Earth world.

It concerned him how she was feeling most of all; He wasn't sure how she would be coping now that he was absent from her life and the not knowing, it was becoming to be his undoing. He hoped- whenever she was- that she was growing accustomed to being without his presence in her life. He still missed her to the moon and back though.

He'd also gotten frequent visits from this supposed family of his. One afternoon not only Carrick and Grace had arrived, but their children and his siblings, Mia and Elliot had arrived as well. He did not remember the 2 siblings either but they seemed just as accepting as the mother and father had been to explain to him in great depths what role he had in their lives.

...

That evening, after Nurse Betty had came in at her usual time to deliver him his tray of food and check how he was doing, he climbed carefully off the bed and shuffled towards the joined room that was the bathroom. Above the sink in the hospital bathroom he had discovered there was a mirror.

It had only been 3 days ago that he had finally let himself glance at the reflection of the man in the mirror for the 1st time. It had been the 1st time he had ever truly seen himself before, in his own physical body; His own face staring back at him. He found it not only startling but fascinating; Usually he were invisible to all but his charge Ana and he had not seen his body or what he looked like until then.

He approached the mirror, lifting his eyes to the reflection that shined back at him in it. The 1st time he had done it he hadn't been sure what to expect; His eyes were a deep grey, his nose angular. His hair was short and a tousled reddish brown. He even had a light dusting of facial hair around his chin, jaw area and above his top lip which he found fascinating to touch and stroke, feeling for the 1st time how rough and prickly facial stubble felt with his own hands and fingers.

He was unsure whether he was the same man in physical form as the one his charge often saw and was used to but he hoped so. When he eventually found her again he needed and wanted her to remember him. The idea of Ana not recognizing him, it terrorized him.

The 3 marks were still there on his chest at the very least; He found he liked to glance down at the marks just as often as he did his own physical human reflection curiously, just to make sure they were there. In the white baggy hospital gown he'd yank the loose fabric at the neck down to see his chest clearly, the 3 marks of his initiation and pledge fortunately always there, puckered and round.

He just hoped that once he found Ana somehow she would both recognize and remember him.

...

At 9.30 the next morning, he was awoken to Nurse Betty knocking in the room and explaining that a Jason Taylor had arrived to pick him up and that he had also brought a pair of Christian's clothes along with him.

He was not sure just who Jason Taylor was but the man appeared happy to see him as he entered carrying a bag with a change of clothes into the room. He nodded at Christian where he was, resting in bed while still trying to wake himself up.

"You are looking a lot better today, Mr Grey, Sir," Jason Taylor said pleasantly while dropping the bag near the bed. "I brought you a spare change of clothes. Also, I left the car waiting outside in the Emergency area. It shouldn't be too far to walk."

Christian realized he had a lot to learn; While Nurse Betty kindly helped him change into his shirt, carefully helping with sliding his arms through the sleeves, Jason Taylor explained to him in more depth who he was. Apparently Jason Taylor had been working for him for over 4 years now as his driver and head of security. Why it was necessary for Christian to have his own security team, he did not know but gathered he was something of a rather prominent person.

Dressed and at last permitted to leave the hospital, Nurse Betty showed them where the reception area was for him to fill out a release form and other documents. Jason Taylor lingered by, he noticed, always observing quietly what Christian and the other people around him were doing. Then once everything was finalized, Christian thanked Nurse Betty graciously for all of her help while Jason Taylor explained to him where the elevators were to take them down to the car.

"I bet you are looking forward to be heading home, Sir," Jason Taylor said as they walked slowly down the corridor together.

Christian glanced at the man, finding himself excited to learn what 'home' was and what it looked like to him. He hadn't had his own home before- aside from the home he had with Ana. "Where's home?" he asked curiously as a man was wheeled past them in a wheelchair.

"Home is at Escala Penthouse, Sir," Jason Taylor informed him. "It won't be long until we get there." Christian wasn't sure why but Taylor kept insisting on holding the bag of his clothes for him; He held them close over his shoulder as they walked down a narrow corridor. "Is there anywhere else you would like to go beforehand?"

As he glanced around curiously at their surroundings, Christian's eyes landed on the signs on the wall. One sign explained where the Children's Ward was; Straight down and further the corridor. He found himself intrigued and eager to peer inside the ward.

"Can we go further down to the Children's Ward?" he asked, noticing an odd look pass across Jason Taylor's face at the question. He found himself wanting to see what the children were like in the ward. He wondered if they would be exactly like his charge Ana or if they were younger than her.

"Er, I suppose it wouldn't hurt, Sir."

After gaining Taylor's permission, Christian continued down the corridor curiously. He saw a big sign below the ceiling that said Children's Ward very clearly and knew that they were now at the right place. Only it wasn't what he was expecting at all.

He expected to hear children laughing happily and playing. Only to his surprise the ward was completely quiet aside from the sound of televisions going off softly with children's shows. He saw a young girl lying in one bed, a strange plastic tube in her nose that was hooked up to the beeping machine next to her. She looked about Ana's age when she had started her 1st year in school; How Ana had looked so nervous and little, only he could sense something was different about this young girl. Her face was pale and she seemed almost sad and unhappy.

"Uh, Sir, I think we might have to-" He heard Taylor begin uncertainly from behind him, only he ignored him. Christian was too distracted as he started walking towards the small girl in the bed.

He smiled when the girl turned to look at him, startled by her eyes; Her dark brown eyes seemed almost dull and lifeless. They were so different from his Ana's when she were little; Ana had appeared so full of life and her eyes shone with brightness and mischievousness. This girl appeared the polar opposite of his charge.

He helped himself to the empty chair near her bed as the girl turned and watched him with wide, suspicious brown eyes. "Hi, I'm Christian." He leaned forward to speak to her, "What's your name?"

The little girl blinked at him for a moment before whispering shyly, "Hi, I'm Lucy."

"Lucy is a nice name." He peered up at the small TV the girl was watching; Some sort of cartoon was on, similar to one he remembered his young charge liked to watch when she were younger. "What are you watching on TV?"

"Um, I..." He could see the girl was overly shy. She stared down at her hands, flexing her small fingers. "I'm not really watching it, they just leave it on."

"Oh. How old are you?"

"Um, I... I'm 6. Why?"

"6?" Immediately, he could remember Ana at that age. A fond smile passed across his face. "I had a best friend who used to be 6, but now she's 15 when I last left her. Where are all the toys in here?"

Taylor stood back, watching the pair interact with widened eyes. Usually his boss did not like interacting with children, nor did he appear to have the time and patience. Seeing Christian now, speaking to this young girl, how relaxed he appeared and how genuinely interested and caring he seemed towards her, it shocked Taylor. While Carrick and Grace Grey had given him a brief overview into Christian's state after the accident, how he appeared to not be able to remember a few things, he also did not expect for him to have such a strong change in personality.

He had always known Mr Grey to even have something of a strong aversion towards children yet, here he was now, with a terminally ill girl, getting along with her so well. He could even see that Christian's concern for the girl was sincere when his boss turned back to look at him, a frown marring his face.

"Do you think we could do something about arranging for some toys to be in here?"

The childlike and compassionate new way of his boss was baffling. "Uh, I suppose we could, Sir. I think we could always arrange to donate some toys for the children?"

"We'll do that then. How about we go straight to a toy store right now and get all the toys we can fit into the car?"

Taylor was still flabbergasted when Christian finally stood, saying goodbye to the little girl. He held out his hand and the girl gave him a toothy smile as she shook his hand in return, appearing more cheered and lively by their conversation. How he was being with the young girl, it was truly touching.

"Er, that was very wonderful, what you did back there, Sir," Taylor muttered in appreciation as they finally waited for the elevator to arrive on their level. "You could see that girl was happy by having someone else to talk to, even if for a little while."

"Where's the nearest toy store around here?" Christian asked eagerly, surprising Taylor anew by his genuine readiness to donate some new toys to the children's ward.

While the previous Christian Grey Taylor knew was still a decent charitable man, after his accident now it appeared even more so.

"Uh, don't you want to arrive at Escala first, sir, so that you can rest and get settled back in?"

"Let's go find some toys first. I promised Lucy I'd give her fun new toys to play with."

...

"Why do I have so much money?" Christian quizzed Taylor as he drove the car towards Escala, Mr Grey in the backseat.

Taylor tried to hold in a puzzled laugh as he met his bosses gaze in the mirror; It was darker outside now, the pair of them having spent over 3 hours in the Children's Ward at the hospital after Christian had splurged on over four hundred dollars worth of toys.

After having to explain to Mr Grey on how to use his credit card, his boss had been truly dumbfounded on the amount of money held in in his bank account; Something that Taylor had never once expected to witness from Mr Grey.

He still couldn't overcome the shock of how different Mr Grey seemed in both personality and character. Clearly something about the accident and his near-death experience- whatever it may be- had had a profound affect on Mr Grey.

It was one thing, having to witness his boss of nearly over 4 years being startled by the large amount of money in his bank account. It had been another thing entirely to see how involved and excited Mr Grey had been in donating the toys to the hospital and watching the children, especially the young girl that he had been interacting with earlier, act so much happier.

Now Mr Grey had been flinging questions at Taylor constantly; Some he was not sure how to answer.

"Er, you have so much money, sir, because you are a hard-working, successful person," Taylor tried to explain as he halted the car at a red light. "You work as CEO to Grey Enterprises Holdings, also a company you founded roughly 5 years ago."

"And what does my company do exactly?"

"Well, your company mainly deals with telecommunications." Taylor glanced in the rearview mirror again. He could see Mr Grey was not entirely following him and tried to hold in a shocked laugh again.

It was so bizarre, the entire situation with Mr Grey. After explaining further, Mr Grey threw him another tough question.

"Am I a good person, Taylor?"

Not once in his life did he expect to hear that question being asked from the man. He found himself unsure of how to answer. "Well, I'll just say that you are like any other human, Mr Grey." He laughed nervously. "You, like me and many other mortal humans, we have our... flaws. But yes, I would say that you are a good man in your own way, sir."

Things got even stranger for Taylor once he pulled up into Mr Grey's private garage. All his numerous cars were parked in the garage, some he hadn't driven for months.

"Whose cars are all of these?" Mr Grey had asked curiously.

"Well, they actually so happen to be yours, sir."

"Mine?" He had tried not to laugh again as he rushed to hold the door open for his boss. "Why do I own so many?"

"I suppose you like your toys, sir."

Inside on the top floor of Escala, it was still much the same. Unnervingly odd. Taylor watched his bosses reaction very carefully as Mr Grey wandered around the rooms, his grey eyes permanently wide in shock. He truly were acting like an utterly different person than the one before the accident.

"It's big?" Mr Grey had observed once he did a full circle around the kitchen and living area.

"Uh, yes, Sir. I suppose it is."

"And who else lives here with me?" He watched as Mr Grey strode slowly to the large U-shaped sofa, which he was running the palm of his hand over curiously, stroking the fabric as if he hadn't felt it before. "Mia and Elliot, I'm assuming?"

"No, Sir. You live alone."

"Alone?" Mr Grey threw his head back to peer at him with arched eyebrows. He appeared strangely horrified at the thought. "But you could fit so many people here?"

"The perks of being a multimillionaire then, I suppose."

"I play?" Mr Grey had found his shiny black piano. Taylor watched silently as he carefully lifted up the cover, his fingers brushing over the keys playfully.

"You do. It's one of your many hobbies."

"What are more of my many hobbies?"

"Er, well, as far as I know... sky diving. Paragliding. Extreme sports. That sort of thing." Taylor suddenly felt uncomfortable as he observed Mr Grey eyeing off everything in his home as if he hadn't seen it before. He really ought to take his leave and allow the man to settle in for the night. "If you don't mind, sir, I might have to head off."

"OK?" He could see that Mr Grey was distracted, so he left him to it, moving towards the exit while shaking his head. Taylor couldn't help wondering if Mr Grey had changed mainly due to the experience of almost dying with the accident. Had the accident and near-death affected him in such a profound way?

Christian couldn't believe his eyes. There was a door that led out onto a balcony with a spectacular view from high up on the building. He stood near the railing, peering down, unafraid of the height and the big drop down. He couldn't believe people actually lived like this- yet, here he was, having apparently lived like this.

He could not remember any of this at all. What Taylor had explained to him, nothing made any sense. He had no sudden flickers of remembering anything. All he remembered and knew well, was mostly his time of being Ana's guardian angel and her as his charge. All of this other stuff, it was utterly new to him.

There was a second floor, he discovered. He started stepping up the stairs slowly one step at a time while observing the odd paintings on the walls. Up the stairs it thinned out into a long narrow corridor. He took his time, glancing in all of the rooms. One appeared to be a gym area with weight-lifting machines and other odd contraptions. Another room was a bedroom with just a bed and a few drawers and matching dresser, though he was unsure whether it was his room or not.

The last door he discovered was locked and the door wouldn't open, no matter how hard he tried to shake it open. It required a key but he wasn't sure where that key was right now.

Running a hand through his hair, he went back down the narrow hallway and tread down the stairs, glancing around again. Then he spied another room he hadn't entered as yet. It opened up to be another bedroom with black dressers. Curiously, he opened some of the drawers, immediately coming to the realization of what the room was.

This room rather than the one upstairs must be his bedroom. Pulling open the drawer, he could see ties were neatly folded in their own separate box compartments of different fabrics and colors. Closing it and reaching down to the next drawer, this one had socks and underwear in it this time, carefully and neatly arranged and folded.

Shutting the drawer and moving towards a room, he saw a line of suits neatly hanging on hooks. Business shirts, polo shirts. Blazers. Trousers. Right down beneath the trousers were pairs of shoes, shining and polished. Some business shoes while others were sneakers or sports shoes.

Everything was so artfully organized.

He found another door that opened up into another room- a bathroom. All white tiles and a sparkling clean bathtub, shower, and sink. He reached up, opening the cabinet near the sink. There were razors and shaving gel. Deodorant and men's aftershave.

Whoever's form he was in now, it disgusted him. He was used to simply being there for Ana, not living in such exuberance and luxury. Everything was so materialism-based, he was not used to it.

He was used to his main purpose in life being Ana, not... this. This was foreign territory.

He was used to having no possessions. All he had simply had before was his charge and his charge alone, his life selflessly dedicated to her. But now that he found himself in the Earth world, he was suddenly tied to so many possessions and materials.

In his world, materialism was considered a sin and wicked. So was to covet, to be glutenous, to be greedy.

Selflessness and dedicating oneself completely to their charge was most important. As was generosity, charity. Yet clearly his new form now, although he did not much understand it, they stood for all that he had been taught in his world was sinful and wrong.

Yet as he leisurely stepped back outside onto the balcony, the wind rustling his hair around, Christian came to a sudden startling understanding.

Wrong as it had been preached to live as this in his world, he liked this.

The discovery of having money, of owning all of these luxurious possessions, all the cars, the penthouse with the amazing view... He actually found himself liking it. He could certainly get used to this.

The only thing to add the icing on the cake and make it all complete would be his Ana. Finding his charge.

...

 ** _5 years later.._.**

"You are not only beautiful and strong," Ana chanted to herself in the mirror nervously while fixing up her hair into a tight ponytail, "But you are also entirely capable of being on your own now."

It was something she found her saying to herself often whenever she was nervous or had her self-doubts. She smiled halfheartedly to herself while staring at her own reflection, focusing on breathing deeply while straightening her shoulders back. Even although she tried to breathe as deeply and slowly as possible, it didn't seem to ease any of her nerves. That tight little knot was still existing in her stomach.

Today was a big day for Ana. And also she knew it was every bit a big day for her mother Carla as well.

Today was the day she finally moved out of her Mom's place into her first rental apartment with best friend Kate.

They had been planning this day for a while now. After both got accepted into WSU together they decided naturally that moving in together should come next. It would be Ana's first time being away from her mother for such a long length of time. Even last night while helping Ana to pack up her room, she could sense some nerves on her mother's end as well. She guessed her mother never expected the day would come either.

She heard a light knock on her bedroom door, then Carla's gentle voice, filled with both apprehension and excitement, "Ana, honey. Are you up? Can I come in?"

Ana stood back from the mirror, turning to glance at the now bare walls in the room. Before, when she was younger, her bedroom walls used to be so full and less bare; Covered with posters and drawings she did at school. Her dresser used to always be filled with clothes and mementos from her childhood on top of it but now it was just as bare as the walls.

"You are entirely capable of being on your own now," she muttered to herself under her breath one last time reassuringly, using the same near-final words a very cherished and special person from her childhood had told her, before walking towards the door to let her mother into her mostly packed and empty room.

Carla looked around at all the boxes with a smile, and then Ana noticed her eyes beginning to fill up with tears. She knew it was just as difficult for her mother as it was for Ana; Ana having always lived with her mother. After Ana's father dying when she was younger, it had always just been Ana and Carla (and Ana's secret friend only she could see). Now that Ana would be leaving to live in an apartment closer for WSU, she honestly began to worry about how Carla would cope without her in the house.

"Wow, look at it all," Carla gushed. "You really are ready to go, aren't you?"

"Pretty much, Mom, yes. Everything's packed and ready for the apartment." She saw the brief look on her mother's face and crumbled. "Oh, Mom," Ana whispered and she reached over, slipping her arms around her mother's shoulders, hugging her very tightly. Carla put her arms around her own daughters shoulders also and hugged her back with a light laugh, pressing her warm cheek against Ana's. "You'll be fine without me," Ana assured her, patting her back gently.

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry for being sappy. I'm just going to miss you so much!"

"Me, too. I'm going to miss you a lot!"

"It just won't be the same without you. I've gotten used to you living here with me." Carla laughed softly again as she leaned back to look at her daughter, then reached up with a hand, smoothing a loose strand of Ana's hair that she had missed gently out of her face with her fingers. "You've grown up so quickly! It feels like it were only yesterday that you were starting your first day at school as a young girl." She stared at Ana fondly and Ana stared back as her eyes glistened over with tears. "Then again, you always were abnormally mature for your age. You didn't need me much anyway, did you?"

"Oh, Mom! What are you saying?" she laughed. "I always needed you!"

"Oh, no you didn't." Carla shrugged off her daughters words with a playful laugh. "You always did quite well on your own, even as a young little girl. Especially what with that friend you said you had- the one that always looked out for you and helped teach you things?"

She was speaking about Christian and Ana was unprepared for it. The instance she realized who her mother was referring to her stomach tightened up with more knots. When Ana thought of her long lost friend Christian, she always felt a curious mixture of both sadness yet happiness; Sadness because she missed him still even now, but also happiness at the chance of having someone like him around in the 1st place.

It's been 5 years since Christian had to say goodbye and he left Ana that fateful night, vanishing in her arms on her bed as she hugged him and begged for him not to go.

He was her 1st everything and sometimes, when she did let herself think about everything that had happened between them back then, Ana found herself feeling nostalgic and longing for him to reappear in her life.

He was honestly the 1st man to have ever truly broken her heart. Him leaving her at 15 was honestly the most devastating thing Ana thought she had ever been through. It had taken her such a long time to get used to him no longer being around; Going through so many years getting accustomed to him being in her life as a young girl had made it so incredibly hard to get used to being without him after age 15 when he had left.

Truthfully there were still moments where she caught herself looking for him in crowded areas even although she knew it was unlikely that she would ever see her special friend and guide again.

Sometimes she had even pretended to step outside onto the sidewalk in front of a moving car, just so that hopefully on the off-chance he would reappear into her life to warn her to look both ways before crossing the road as he always did before. Or Ana would even catch herself doing something deliberately risky just to chance it and see if he would materialize to warn her against it (like stealing something small like a candy bar for instance or a pack of chewing gum, just to see if he would suddenly come) . But sadly it hadn't worked and all attempts she had made were futile in hopefully getting her longest, most trusted friend back.

That said, she hadn't done anything stupid or risky on purpose in over 3 months now. She now felt as though she had started to give up hope and had began to accept the misfortune that her best friend was no longer coming back. He never would be in her life again.

But her mother was right; She probably was not the ordinary girl who depended on her mother for guidance and safety, because Ana always had Christian there at the time instead. Christian had always been there for her when her mother couldn't be, guiding her along and explaining to her certain things about life and the world.

"Christian," Ana finally murmured as they both laughed at the memory, even just speaking the name aloud making her bones feel like mushy tender jelly.

"That's right. Christian," Carla murmured back. "His name was Christian. I could always hear you talking to yourself in your room or when you were alone. It was the oddest thing, hearing you always having conversations when I couldn't even see anybody there!"

"Oh, gee. You must have thought I was so strange?"

"Not at all," Carla laughed, patting Ana's cheek fondly. "Although admittedly I _did_ see a child psychologist as I was concerned about it, but he reassured me that having imaginary friends was absolutely natural at your age and could have even helped with your development."

Ana had no idea her mother had been that concerned; enough that she actively sought out a child psychologist. "Didn't you have a friend when you were younger though?" Ana asked in confusion, remembering Christian's explanation from years ago. In his words, hadn't he put it that everyone had a guardian angel, a special friend, though it were rare to see them after a certain age?

"I'm pretty sure I did, honey. But yours seemed to have lasted far longer than mine did. It worried me."

"Well, I'm fine now." They heard a car horn honking in the driveway- Kate arriving to pick up Ana and her things to take with them to their new apartment- and they pulled away. "Kate's here so we better get these boxes into the car. I still can't believe I'm moving out of the house!"

...

The 5 years that passed for Christian in his new human form were extremely enlightening and educational.

He found it easier than he thought possible to adapt. He had settled into a new, familiar routine of Taylor driving him to work where he settled and shifted into his role as CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings; Then of an evening Taylor would drive him straight back to the penthouse again, depending on his mood.

Christian also discovered a new decadent vice that was considered a sin in his other world- the joyful pleasure of drinking alcohol. If he felt in a good enough mood, he would head out to a local bar or restaurant to indulge in a fine glass of wine and a nice meal. Now that he had been living human for the past 5 years, Christian learned that there were nothing quite as pleasurable as tasting food and wine, savoring it on his now-growing palate.

He had also come to learn what resources open up to you when you have an abundance of money. His charge, although 5 years having passed, was never far from his mind. Taylor had explained to him a concept he was not all that familiar with until recently- that he had a bunch of trusted people and contacts that he went to for various different things that he had required. One of them was a private investigator named Stanley Welch.

Just late that evening before, he had contacted the man to request a background check on Anastasia Rose Steele, his charge.

He was due to work in his office that morning, preparing for a meeting with a group of shareholders, but decided he would put it off in favor of meeting the private investigator in a local Seattle restaurant to go through what he had discovered on his ex-charge.

He sat in the backseat of the car now as Taylor drove towards their destination, one hand reaching for his phone while the other ran through his hair. He pressed the button to go straight through to his office assistant who answered two rings later.

"Good morning, Mr Grey. How can I help you?"

"Andrea, I'll be arriving into the office later this morning. I have a contact to meet."

"Oh. Very well, sir." He hung up a second later, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He found he had enjoyed this as well; sinful as it were according to his old world. He found he enjoyed being waited on and the fact that he could drop anything he wanted at his own leisure.

At first, he had felt guilty about all the many things running through his head; His unexpected enjoyment at living materialistically, at having everyone at his beck-and-call, such as assistants and private trusted contacts. But now he no longer felt that guilt; He decided that if he were now living in human form, in the Earth world, then he should be allowed to live in what his previous world had considered 'sin'.

It were not considered sin in the Earth world, it were simply being called getting-by. In the Earth world, he learned that ruthlessness got you everywhere. He decided long ago that he was not going to apologize anymore for taking advantage of his form now and discovering the finer things he had since missed out on.

They arrived at the posh restaurant to meet his contact Welch fifteen minutes later. Taylor pulled up at the curb while Christian assured him he would contact him when he required him to pick him up again. He opened the door and slid out of the seat while combing his fingers through his hair, ensuring it was neat. As he shut the door and moved to approach the entrance of the restaurant, he caught a glimpse of his reflection through the glass in the window and paused to straighten his jacket of any wrinkles before doing up the final 3 buttons.

Another thing he learned very early on was that Christian liked the feeling of the clothes he wore; Suits especially. It was amazing how his mood lifted and how good he felt wearing a fine suit. He also noticed others in the Earth world took him more seriously in a suit rather than causal, plain clothes- a feeling he liked immensely.

The doorman of the restaurant rushed forward to hold it open for him and Christian nodded once in gratitude before striding towards reception. The woman behind the desk was blonde and immaculately dressed in a white blouse and skirt; The instance her eyes laid on him, Christian gained the impression that she immediately enjoyed what she saw of him.

It did not go past him either that, in the Earth world in this form, women seemed to give him a lot of attention. He basked in it and enjoyed it every time- though there were one person and one person only that his heart were admittedly set on finding. His heart still belonged to that girl he left at age 15- his charge.

He often felt he were chained to her by heart. No other could capture his attention, his dedication and loyalty as much as that charge of his even 5 years later without having seen her again as yet in his Earth form.

"Good morning," the woman said in a rather breathless, flustered way that did not escape him. She reached up to tuck a stray strand of blonde hair around her ear as her eyelashes fluttered at him. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to meet someone. A Mr Stanley Welch."

"Ah, yes. He's arrived." As the woman stepped around the reception desk, he caught her green-eyed gaze flickering down the length of his suit appreciatively. "This way please if you'll follow me, sir."

He took off after her while observing everyone else in the restaurant. As she stopped at a table, the man who was Welch turned his head back to glance up at him. Stanley Welch appeared to be in his late 50's, with balding hair. He stood abruptly from his chair with his hand extended as the blonde left them.

"Ah, Mr Grey," Welch greeted, and Christian reached over, accepting his extended hand. They shook then let go while Christian took the seat opposite him, his fingers immediately flying out to grab the restaurants menu. "I'm happy to inform you that I have the information that you requested."

Christian lifted his grey gaze from the menu while putting a forefinger against his lips, warning the man to remain silent while he decided what he fancied for breakfast. "Just a moment, Welch. Let me decide what my palate desires first and then we can jump straight into business."

After reading the menu, Christian decided on the Eggs Benedict and a glass of Chianti. As a waiter appeared, he made his order. He noticed Welch ordered exactly the same, copying him.

Christian tried to remain aloof as he handed the waiter over his menu, yet beneath the table his body betrayed him. His left leg started jiggling uncontrollably at the anticipation of finally learning something new about his charge. He couldn't wait to hear about what she was doing now, where she was living. Was she still living with her mother Carla? Was she still friends with Kate? Did anything transpire between her and that boy Trey Michael's? The suspense was killing him.

He opened his mouth to ask Welch to proceed but then shut it quickly when the waiter appeared with their glasses and a bottle of Chianti. It felt as though time was running excruciatingly slow as the waiter placed both their clean wine glasses on the table. Christian found he was gritting his teeth in impatience as the waiter took his time filling their glasses with the red liquor.

Once the waiter finally moved from the table after filling their glasses, Christian reached over, grabbing the thin stem of his wine glass, sliding it closer to his side of the table. "So you said you have what I requested?" he prompted once it was obvious Welch was waiting for him to speak first.

"I do, sir."

Christian felt his heart palpitate extra quick when Welch removed a folded piece of paper out from inside his inner jacket pocket. _So close. He was finally so close to learning recent developments of his charge._

Welch unfolded the paper, then slid it over towards hi. Trying his hardest to appear cool and unaffected, Christian sank his teeth into his lower lip as he grabbed the corner of the piece of paper, shuffling it over on the table to read it. As he requested, it was a background check.

Anastasia Rose Steele

He already knew her DOB of course; he were her guardian angel after all and had been assigned her the instance she were born and had been brought into the world by Carla in labor. He skipped that, immediately looking for her current residency address instead.

To his surprise, she _had_ moved out from her mother Carla's house. She now lived in an apartment in Vancouver. He also felt a swelling of pride to see that she were now a student, studying at Washington State University.

As it turned out, his charge _had_ done well after all- as he expected, of course. He knew she were smart enough to do whatever she put her mind to. As her guardian angel throughout her childhood and now, her older life, there was not a bigger cheerleader and advocate for Anastasia than him himself.

Two steaming fresh plates of their breakfast orders arrived next; Christian moved the document away briskly as the waiter placed both their plates down on the table. He allowed himself a swift read of her relationship status at current- there was none listed which meant she most likely hadn't had anything to do with that boy Trey Michael's again after all- then he folded up the paper, tucking it safely into the pocket of his suit jacket for later to read in privacy.

 _Soon,_ he reassured himself while lifting his glass of Chianti. He placed his lips over the rim, letting a mouthful pool slowly into his mouth. He let it rest there, bursting with flavor on his tongue and around his cheeks. Then he swallowed, admiring the way it slid down his throat smoothly with a slight burning aftertaste. _Soon he would be seeing his charge again._

 _It wouldn't be long now._

 **Hi, hope this chapter was OK? A lot of changes as far as Christian's character goes. He's enjoying his time as an earthling. Next chapter Ana and Christian will meet again- just wanted a bit of a build up. Would love to know what you think? Hoping it isn't too badly written and that my english is ok?**


End file.
